featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 15, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Music lovers play music throughout their day,
whether through headphones or out speakers. My own listening is almost always
dictated by my writing. I engage in very little extracurricular listening.
Climbing into my car for any amount of time, I'll typically line up a new album
I need to preview, or I'll stream the week's ROUTES-cast. You should do the
same.
In general, we play music for a range of reasons. We select something in order to create a mood, or to change our mood. We might make a selection to confirm something we're feeling, or we might turn to music to help us through a difficult time. We might call that music as best friend, which explains at least in part the popularity of Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo. It's never this cut-and-dried, but it's a worthwhile theory.
I go to Nicholasville to pass the time / And go sit in the park / Took myself one of those depressive drives / It got pretty dark / Some kid was out there playing guitar / Singing 'If I Needed You' / And it hit me / All my favorite bands were the ones you made me listen to / Now I'm wondering who you're sleeping with / Thought starts and it doesn't quit / And I let it take me all the way down / Self-sabotage until I drown
It's one of the year's best lyrics, courtesy of
Kentucky's Abby Hamilton and the title track to her debut
full-length, #1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo). It's a song we
could cite at length here, delivered over a modern electric pulse, coupled with
an insistent electric guitar buzz, Hamilton's open-throated vocal soaring
through her chorus. It's a voice we've met little-by-little over the past couple years as the songwriter released her 2017 Broke Girl EP, followed by 2020's Afraid of the Dark EP, and last year's EP that showcased those songs in a live setting. Memorable songs like "Change Things" and "Trailer Park Queen" set the stage for Hamilton's full-scale debut.
Per Abby Hamilton, the thesis of Zookeeper is exploring the worlds we create to cope with the world we are in. If the songs of Lydia Loveless present these coping mechanisms as the forces of which our disfunctions are composed, Hamilton chooses a gentler, more compassionate approach, a conversational tone. She acknowledges that we each create our own framework of support on "Whatever Helps You Sleep". A stinging electric guitar line orients us to the upbeat cut, piercing through the full, bright country-pop arrangement. No matter our compulsion or our motivation, the Bible or the bottle, the singer reserves judgement: You put you faith in something you believe is true / Hoping it give everything it's got back to you / With a leather bound book and hope in an afterlife / Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Songs from those earlier EPs were set firmly in a bed of familiar country sonics, elements of which remain on these new sessions. Hamilton has worked with co-producers Justin Craig and Duane Lundy to update those sounds on Zookeeper, adding an appealing and unobtrusive layer of contemporary production that suggests more of a roots pop with country accents. "Lucky" opens with a Bonnie Raitt-like bass groove, subtly bluesy electric guitar ushering in the large chorus which typifies Hamilton's writing. The song introduces a struggling songwriter navigating her world: She thought she'd have it all figured out. Without backing down or sinking in despair, Hamilton leaves room for moments of doubt, even as her voice rises hopefully: C'mon and throw me something / It all can't mean nothing / Don't drop me on a limb / Just to watch it break. Hamilton's longtime supporting band shows strength in their restraint on the beautifully downbeat "Baby Let's Ride", pedal steel and piano suggesting a melancholy spirit: Have you ever tried going 92 / Just cause you don't think the world needs you.
As a songwriter, Abby Hamilton leans into her real vocal appeal and lyrics that can assume the tone of a close friend or confidant, investing Zookeeper with the boldness of Margo Price and the real-lived relatability of Hailey Whitters. There is a strain of Sheryl Crow on the encouragingly breezy "Good Thing", set to a light acoustic strum: You're in for a good thing baby ... Tomorrow can take care of itself. The fiery imagery of "Soccer Field" lands like a prophecy, stressing Hamilton's willingness to step a bit outside of her more traditional narrative comfort zone: Something that sounded like the voice of John Prine / Said all the good ones die / So I kissed your hands and started to cry.
At heart, the songs of Abby Hamilton fill that purpose of music that encourages and affirms, music as best friend. I'm doin' alright, she sings on "Fine", Thanks for asking. Fortunately, she's a best friend who is wise and who makes superb country-pop. The pillowy-sweet ballad floats on a cloud of pedal steel, set aloft on a subtle chorus of angelic backing vocals. Even when things go bad, Abby Hamilton reminds us: It ain't bad luck / It's just poor stewardship of some damn good love. #1 Zookeeper (Of the San Diego Zoo) isn't just fine advice, it establishes Hamilton as among the year's most appealing new artists.
- Esme Patterson, "Kinda Like Praying" Notes From Nowhere (Esme, 23)
- Jason Hawk Harris, "Roll" Thin Places (Bloodshot, 23)
- Laura Veirs, "Creatures Of a Day" Phone Orphans (Raven Marching Band, Nov 3)
- Old Californio, "Destining Again" Metaterranea (Old Cal, Oct 27) D
- Madi Diaz, "Same Risk" Weird Faith (Anti, Feb 9) D
- Jerry Joseph, "Canadian Boyfriend" Baby You're the Man Who Would Be King (Cosmo Sex School, 23)
- Joy Oladokun, "Black Car" Proof of Life (Deluxe) (Verve, 23) D
- Bones of JR Jones, "Blue Sky" Slow Lightning (Bones, 23)
- Leyla McCalla, "Zanj (ft Alynda Segarra)" single (Anti, 23) D
- Molly Parden, "Dandy Blend" Sacramented (Parden, 23) D
- Nora Jane Struthers, "Back To Cast Iron" Back To Cast Iron (Blue Pig, Oct 27)
- Adeem the Artist, "Dirt Bike (ft Andrea Kukuly Uriarte)" single (Four Quarters, 23) D
- Sarah Jarosz, "Columbus & 89th" Polaroid Lovers (Rounder, Jan 26)
- Willy Tea Taylor, "Bakersfield (ft Jeffrey Martin)" Great Western Hangover (Blackwing, Oct 27)
- John R Miller, "Dollar Store Tents" Heat Comes Down (Rounder, 23)
- Uncle Lucius, "Civilized Anxiety" Like It's the Last One Left (Boo Clap, Dec 8)
- Leeroy Stagger, "Chop Wood Haul Water" single (Tonic, 23) D
^ Abby Hamilton, "Soccer Field" #1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo) (Blue Gown, 23)
- Ward Davis, "Ain't Quite Mary Jane" single (Davis, 23) D
- Corb Lund, "Old Familiar Drunken Feeling" El Viejo (New West, Feb 23) D
- Chris Stapleton, "It Takes a Woman" Higher (Mercury, Nov 10)
- Steel Woods, "You Don't Even Known Who I Am" On Your Time (Woods, 23)
- Amigo the Devil, "Cannibal Within" Yours Until the War Is Over (Liars Club, Feb 23) D
- Mali Velasquez, "Medicine" I'm Green (Acrophase, 23) D
- Damien Jurado, "St Gregory Hotel" Motorcycle Madness (Maraqopa, 23) D
- Deer Tick, "Dancing In the Dark" single (ATO, 23) D
- Geese, "Killing My Borrowed Time" 4D Country EP (Partisan, 23)
- Beirut, "The Tern" Hadsel (Pompeii, Nov 10)
- Violent Femmes, "Gone Daddy Gone/I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live at Folk City 1983)" Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition) (Craft, Dec 1) D
- Brittany Howard, "What Now" What Now (Island, 23) D
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To enjoy our weekly Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months. Or click here for a preview:
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