ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
August 6, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
William Matheny has also served time with Southeast Engine with Adam Remnant (another act on that shortlist), prior to recording 2017's superb Strange Constellations. He's a longtime friend and tour buddy of Tyler Childers, whose Hickman Holler imprint has released Matheny's new collection. Matter of fact, both John R Miller and Adam Meisterhans play a supporting role on That Grand, Old Feeling, and Matheny returns the favor on Miller's forthcoming record.
That Grand, Old Feeling was largely complete prior to the pandemic, but like many other artists Matheny chose to wait out the deluge. The West Virginian multi-instrumentalist's second full-length posits him on small stages and at Elks Lodges, lodged in Dubuque hotels and down at a bar at the end of the world, in search of the titular grand, old feeling. William Matheny seems resolute on that title cut, a guitar-heavy midwest rocker just this side of anthemic. In contrast to his compatriots, Matheny's new sessions are less like field recordings or echoes from deep in the holler than they are a more urban pop, bred with muscular heartland rock. A perennial pilgrim, the closest he comes to identifying the object of his quest: that singing sparrow in the marrow of my bones.
Matheny still hasn't found what he's looking for, but he doesn't seem ready to abandon the journey. On the Greenwich folk-like "Late Blooming Forever", guitars chime (and chimes chime too), as he speaks to a certainty that I think it's gonna happen any day. "If You Could Only See Me Now" is unapologetic country, with its pedal steel and drunken organ. The familiar story follows the singer chasing hope from the stagelights to the hotel room: Every day's a four-leaf clover / And every night is a winning hand.
While William Matheny has been at this pursuit for more than half a lifetime, there is a definite streak of youthful assuredness to certain songs on That Grand, Old Feeling. On others, he acknowledges the quixotic nature of his quest, as well as the tolls taken by a lifetime spent on the road. The barbed, Alejandro Escovedo-esque "Stranger's Voice" gives us a glimpse inside a touring vehicle: I was starving with John R Miller / Way out west in New Mexico. The song's guitars stab, and Matheny's vocal is delivered through a sneer. There's a similar edge to "Every Way To Lose", with a guitar solo pushing through a wall of fuzz and a tumble of drums: Y'know I once had a birthright / But then I traded it in / On a fine collection of motel pens.
Matheny's new collection finds him surrounded by many of the same collaborators who joined him on Strange Constellations. In addition to producer Bud Carroll, the sessions feature Miller, Meisterhans, J Tom Hnatow (Horse Feathers) on pedal steel, Jeremy Batten on keys, and Clint Sutton on drums. Most arrangements are drum- and guitar-driven, with other songs built from Batten's piano. Batten himself called "Down At the Hotel Canfield", as if Randy Newman played on Nashville Skyline. It's also one of several cuts that showcase William Matheny's literate lyrical approach, building sturdy songs that are never unnecessarily crowded, but are always smart. Recalling a young Jackson Browne, he sings: Life's just getting ready to be gone gone gone / And every place just looks the same to me.
Throughout his career, William Matheny has supported his longtime friends and road companions as a collaborator-of-choice and a reliable session musician. A quick glance at the video for John R Miller's excellent new "Ditcher" reveals occasional glimpses of Matheny's familiar presence on bass. As a solo artist, however, he is more than capable of charting his own course beneath these strange constellations. His new album hits harder than we'd expect, and cuts deeper lyrically. There's a bar band spirit to tunes like "Christian Name" (released as an earlier single alongside a terrific take on Centro-Matic's "Flashes & Cables"). With a touch of alt.country, he sings: I got a Christian name and a life of sin / And I'm three sheets at the merch booth again. Never pessimistic on his search for That Grand, Old Feeling, he is a notably likeable frontman, self-deprecating without indulgence, and capable of making some good noise along the way. William Matheny is bright enough to recognize that the journey itself is the destination: Once I was a fair young lass / Chewing on my fingernails / Kicking gravel down the road to Damascus / Trying to wash my eyes of scales ...
ROUTES-cast AUGUST 6, 2023
- Jobi Riccio, "Lonely Tonight" Whiplash (Yep Roc, Sep 8)
- Logan Ledger, "All the Wine in California" Golden State (Rounder, Sep 8)
- Charles Wesley Godwin, "All Again" Family Ties (Big Loud, Sep 22) D
- Mikaela Davis, "Saturday Morning" And Southern Star (Kill Rock Stars, 23)
- Mipso, "Broken Heart/Open Heart" Book of Fools (Mipso, Aug 18)
- Jaime Wyatt, "World Worth Keeping" Feel Good (New West, Nov 3) D
- Buddy & Julie Miller, "Don't Make Her Cry" In the Throes (New West, Sep 22)
- Cruz Contreras, "Let Somebody Love You" Cosmico (Cosmico, Sep 15) D
- Lindsay Lou, "Shame" Queen of Time (Kill Rock Stars, Sep 29)
- Kym Register + Meltdown Rodeo, "Scottsboro" Meltdown Rodeo (Don Giovanni, Aug 18) D
- Sonny & the Sunsets, "Shadow" Self Awareness Through Macrame (Rocks in Your Head, Aug 25)
- Sally Anne Morgan, "Awake" Carrying (Thrill Jockey, Sep 22)
- Maybel, "Long Road Ahead" Gloam (Idee Fixe, Oct 27) D
- Handsome Family, "King of Everything" Hollow (Milk & Scissors, Sep 8)
- Lori McKenna, "Driving Back There In My Mind (ft Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey)" single (CN, 23) D
- Jacob Aranda, "Strangers In a Field" War Planes (Speakeasy, Sep 1) D
^ William Matheny, "Late Blooming Forever" That Grand Old Feeling (Hickman Holler, 23)
- Will Johnson, "Sinker, Sinking" No Ordinary Crown (Keeled Scales, Sep 15) D
- Hiss Golden Messenger, "20 Years and a Nickel" Jump For Joy (Merge, Aug 25)
- Ida Mae, "Wild Flying Dove" Thunder Above You (Vow Road, Oct 6) D
- Scott McCaughey, "MacDougal Blues (ft Peter Buck)" Said the Firefly to the Hurricane: Celebration of Kevn Kinney (Tasty Goody, Nov 24)
- Wilco, "Evicted" Cousin (dBpm, Sep 29) D
- Ashley McBryde, "Cool Little Bars" Devil I Know (Warner, Sep 8)
- Orville Peck, "This Masquerade" Song For Leon: Tribute to Leon Russell (Primary Wave, Sep 8)
- Morgan Wade, "Fall In Love With Me" Psychopath (Sony, Aug 25)
- Turnpike Troubadours, "Brought Me" Cat In the Rain (Bossier City, Aug 25)
- Joshua Ray Walker, "Nothing Compares 2 U" What Is It Even (JRW, 23)
- David Eugene Edwards, "Lionisis" Hyacinth (Sargent House, Sep 29) D
- Florry, "Take My Heart" Holey Bible (Dear Life, 23)
- Replacements, "Left of the Dial (Ed Stassium Mix)" Tim (Let it Bleed Edition) (Rhino, Sep 22) D
It's never a bad time for a look behind the curtain of A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our obsessively curated calendar of forthcoming releases. Lillie Mae has announced her first new collection in more than four years. Backed by members of her family, Festival Eyes is set for a September 8 release (s||c records). Jeff Tweedy and Wilco are more productive than ever, already announcing their follow-up to last year's Cruel Country. Produced by Cate Le Bon, expect Cousin to land on proverbial shelves September 29 (dBpm). From Australia, Angie McMahon's 2019 solo debut was a revelation. She's set to follow it up with Light, Dark, Light Again (AWAL, October 27). Poised on the brink of relative stardom, Charles Wesley Godwin's next collection is a generous nineteen tracks. Released on Big Loud Records, Family Ties is due on September 22). Finally, we're feeling good about news of Jaime Wyatt's long-awaited next record. Feeling Good will appear on November 3, courtesy of New West.
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