ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
June 1, 2025
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
This Episode offers a healthy handful of possibilities for If You Only Listen, including the second full-length from Andy Shauf's Foxwarren and the strongest Pine Hill Haints LP in a dog's age. We're also humbly acknowledging that we wiffed on Caveman Wakes Up, a fantastic collection released by Friendship on May 16. But ...
IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles (Sub Pop) is already the least obvious pairing of the music year. In light of hearing the complete project, it might also be one of the year's best. The collection encourages both parties in directions that showcase their respective best. With the late Mimi Parker in Low, Sparhawk created some absolutely lovely noise. Trampled by Turtles have never fully committed to any one musical focus, but might have been at their most engaging when they flirted most precariously with the edges of their bluegrass sandbox. On With, Sparhawk and his new buddies explore music that is sharp and haunting, precisely what we'd hoped for from the collab. The songwriter sounds as engaged as he's been since the regretful end of Low, and in their support of Sparhawk's songs Trampled are both disciplined and unleashed. One's imagination only wonders what the record might have been with Parker's bewitching contributions. A listen to the heartbreaking "Not Broken" hints at what could have been, as Sparhawk and Parker's daughter Hollis carries the chorus: It's not broken / I'm not angry.
ROUTES-cast June 1, 2025
^ Alan Sparhawk & Trampled by Turtles, "Get Still" Alan Sparhawk & Trampled by Turtles (Sub Pop, 25)
- Foxwarren, "Deadhead" 2 (Anti, 25)
- Case Oats, "Bitter Root Lake" Last Missouri Exit (Merge, Aug 22) D
- Emily Hines, "All Our Friends" These Days (Keeled Scales, Aug 1)
- Sam Blasucci, "Don't Speak" single (Amateur Circus, 25) D
- Whitney, "Darling" single (Whitney, 25) D
- Minus 5, "Last Hotel" Oar On Penelope (Yep Roc, 25)
- Hallelujah the Hills, "Animals in Love (ft John Vanderslice)" DECK (Discrete Pageantry, Jun 13)
- Ben Kweller, "Oh Dorian (ft MJ Lenderman)" Cover the Mirrors (Noise, 25)
- Billy Allen + the Pollies, "Invited" Black Noise (Single Lock, Jun 20)
- Low Cut Connie, "Livin' in the USA" single (Contender, 25) D
- Anderson East, "Worthy" Worthy (Rounder, 25)
- Durand Jones & the Indications, "Lover's Holiday" Flowers (Dead Oceans, Jun 27)
- Sunny Sweeney, "Diamonds and Divorce Decrees" Rhinestone Requiem (Aunt Daddy, Aug 1) D
- Lukas Nelson, "Born Runnin' Outta Time" American Romance (Sony, Jun 20)
- Morgan Wade, "Party is Over" Party is Over (recovered) (Ladylike, Aug 1) D
- Pine Hill Haints, "Riverside Diner Blues" Shattered Pieces of the True Cross (Single Lock, 25)
- Ben Nichols, "Fading Back Into the Night" In the Heart of the Mountain (Liberty & Lament, Jul 25) D
- Lola Kirke, "Stronger Storm" single (One Riot, 25) D
- Joe Kaplow, "Fly Away" Fly Away EP (Sonder House, 25)
- Caitlin Canty, "Strangers/Lovers" Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove (Canty, Oct 2)
- Hayes Carll, "High" We're Only Human (Hwy 87, Aug 8)
- Rodney Crowell, "Taking Flight (ft Ashley McBryde)" Airline Highway (New West, Aug 29) D
- Cody Jinks, "Better Than the Bottle" In My Blood (Late August, Jul 25)
- Jade Jackson, "Pretending" single (Jackson Star, 25) D
- Glass Hours, "Man Who Had Everything" single (Cornelius Chapel, 25) D
- Son of the Velvet Rat & Ghost and the Machine, "Day of the Dog" single (Rat, 25) D
- Alex G, "Afterlife" Headlights (RCA, Jul 25) D
- Greg Freeman, "Curtain" Burnover (Transgressive, Aug 22)
- Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, "Big Beast" single (Keeled Scales, 25) D
--------------------------
To enjoy any 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:
No comments:
Post a Comment