ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
January 14, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
I came of age at a time when "Southern Rock" was a thing, when acts like Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Molly Hatchet threatened to make chooglin' a national pastime. Relatively few of these artists actually made significant inroads onto the charts, possibly owing to their emphasis of boogie 'n blues over melody, bombast 'n badassery over song structure, legitimate endeavors if unlikely to land you on the stage of American Bandstand (if that is indeed a goal). As Southern Rock evolved, outfits such as Marshall Tucker Band, Little Feat, and .38 Special achieved some success with a strain that expressed a truer pop sensibility, a trend that ropes in later artists like Bob Seger and Tom Petty. The family tree isn't necessarily a sprawling one, with more recent performers like Drive-by Truckers, Steel Woods, and Blackberry Smoke finding acceptance in the americana niche.
With the release of their third full-length record, Small Fires (Spitting Daggers, Jan 19), North Carolina's Old Heavy Hands strike an appealing balance between Memphis and punk, the fire 'n fury of Drive-by Truckers, the ragged morning after glory of Lucero, and ... well, the long lost pop element as heard on .38 Special or Atlanta Rhythm Section. Produced by Danny Fonorow, and engineered in part by Mitch Easter, the collection boasts songwriting and spirit only hinted at on the band's first albums.
The band's vocal duties are shared between Nate Hall and Larry Slaton, and songs initially alternate between the two writers. The record begins with Hall's heavy "Runaround", shots of electric guitar on the heels of John Chester's hurtling drums. Old Heavy Hands' punk roots rip through in the song's spit lyrics, acknowledging regrets and misdeeds: I just never knew that I could be this mean / Who I was then is sickening. Hall's delivery is barbed and throaty, even on the relatively midtempo "Coming Down", characterized by 90s grunge production details and a call-and-response chorus: I'm coming down / Time's running out.
Larry Slaton is Hall's parry, with a smoother, more melodic delivery on "Between You and Me", recalling Adam Duritz at times. A piece in memoriam to his grandfather, the song showcases the quintet's skill in standing in the gap between heavy and tight: There in the hallway / You were beaming light and radiation / Covered in stars that you'll carry home. On "All the Time In the World", Slaton is joined by a gospel chorus and organ, lifting the track to a righteous Southern gothic outro: If the make the promised land before I can / Please send me that brochure.
Not unlike the Hood/Cooley/Isbell iteration of Drive-by Truckers, the writers are divergent but complementary, both essential to the overall identity of Old Heavy Hands. Hall's "The Flood" augments a soulful vocal with horns and David Self's tough but eloquent guitars for a statement on resilience and renewal. "Scoreboard Lights" is Small Fires' strongest pure song, a story of inheritance and legacy that raises thoughts of Mr Petty & his Heartbreakers: Just like that, one day you're obsolete / Woulda-coulda-shoulda-been is a deep dark disease. Stay for the rare throwback sax solo.
Small Fires arrives six years after Old Heavy Hands' last LP, Mercy. During that time Nate Hall faced down a life-threatening cancer diagnosis, while other band members dealt with the death of loved ones and some personal demons. Think I used to have a little more patience, they acknowledge on "When the Lights Go Out", But I lost in all in a few small fires. Guitar lines are sticky, and the sessions are never far from a memorable, pop-adjacent melody, even as they stay true to their Southern Rock tradition. Perhaps the band's challenges, the pandemic pause, and their subsequent emergence fueled their hunger for more, inspiring Hall and Slaton to grow into excellent, original writers and musicians. Whatever the reason, Old Heavy Hands sounds like a band reborn, defining their lane with grit and purpose.
- Waxahatchee, "Right Back To It (ft MJ Lenderman)" Tigers Blood (Anti, Mar 22) D
- Matthew Logan Vasquez, "Blue Eyes" Frank's Full Moon Saloon (Vasquez, Feb 16)
- Frontier Ruckus, "Clarkston's Pasture" On the Northline (Sitcom Universe, Feb 16)
- Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties, "In Lieu of Flowers" In Lieu of Flowers (Hopeless, Apr 12) D
- Rosali, "Rewind" Bite Down (Merge, Mar 22) D
- GospelbeacH, "Hang Thyme" Wiggle Your Fingers (Curation, Apr 26) D
- Kyle Kimbrell, "Shape I'm In" Easy Truths (Cornelius Chapel, Apr 5) D
- Adam Remnant, "Dumb Luck" Sunrise at Sunset Motel EP (Coiled Myth, 24) D
- Willi Carlisle, "Higher Lonesome" Critterland (Signature Sounds, Jan 26)
- Charlie Parr, "Boombox" Little Sun (Smithsonian, Mar 22) D
- Amigo the Devil, "The Mechanic" Yours Until the War Is Over (Liars Club, Feb 23)
- Six Parts Seven & Goodmorning Valentine, "Meditation in D" Kissing Distance (Suicide Squeeze, Feb 16) D
- Buck Meek, "Beauty Opens Doors" single (4AD, 24)
- Itasca, "Milk" Imitation of War (Paradise of Bachelors, Feb 9)
- John Craigie, "Damn My Love (ft TK & Holy Know-Nothings)" Pagan Church (Zabriskie Point, 24)
- Corb Lund, "Redneck Rehab" El Viejo (New West, Feb 23)
- Joe Pug, "Treasury Of Prayers" Sketch Of a Promised Departure (Pug, Mar 1)
- Secret Sisters, "Same Water" Mind Man Medicine (New West, Mar 29) D
- Parker Millsap & Robert Ellis, "Here We Are" single (Okrahoma, 24) D
- Alejandro Escovedo, "Bury Me" Echo Dancing (Yep Roc, Mar 29) D
- Marlon Williams, "After the Revolution" Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Dead Oceans, Feb 23) D
- Brit Taylor, "Saint Anthony" Kentucky Bluegrassed (Cut a Shine, Feb 2) D
- Aoife O'Donovan, "All My Friends" All My Friends (Yep Roc, Mar 22) D
- Katie Pruitt, "White Lies White Jesus and You" Mantras (Rounder, Apr 5) D
- Kaia Kater, "The Internet" single (Free Dirt, 24) D
- Black Keys, "Beautiful People (Stay High)" Ohio Players (Nonesuch, Apr 5) D
- Aaron Lee Tasjan, "Horror of It All" Stellar Evolution (Blue Elan, Apr 12) D
- Mama Zu, "Safe Place To Stay" Quilt Floor (Cosmic Twin, Feb 23)
- Daniel Romano, "Field Of Ruins" Too Hot To Sleep (You've Changed, Mar 1) D
- Fust, "Dancing and Railing" Songs Of the Rail: Early Demos (Dear Life, 24) D
^ Old Heavy Hands, "All the Time In the World" Small Fires (Splitting Daggers, Jan 19)
This week we were subject to a daily deluge of new release announcements, expanding A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster to near bursting with forthcoming albums. We traditionally choose just five (5) to highlight here, a challenging task given the ridiculous array of choices. We'll start with Waxahatchee, whose Saint Cloud and Plains projects largely defined our year-end favorites. Katie Crutchfield has set March 22 as the release date for Tigers Blood, her first solo album for the Anti label. Charlie Parr pairs with producer Tucker Martine for Little Sun. With a planned March 22 shelf date on the Smithsonian Folkways label, the collection finds him fronting a band including Marisa Anderson, Victor Krummenacher, percussionist Andy Borger, and Asher Fulero on keys. March 22 is setting up to be THE target date for the early year. Guitarist/songwriter Rosali Middleman has chosen that date for the debut of Bite Down (Merge). The session finds her backed by David Nance & Mowed Sound (whose own full-length is set for a February 9 release). Alejandro Escovedo reaches into his back catalog for Echo Dancing (Yep Roc). Due March 29, the record presents reimagined takes on songs from throughout his career, including pieces from his earliest days with Buick MacKane and True Believers. Finally, mark April 5 as the date for Katie Pruitt's 2020 debut, Expectations. Mantras explores issues of self-definition and validation (Rounder).
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