featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
May 10, 2026
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Some weeks are just like this. Sure, there are some good records hitting the digital shelves from artists like Josiah & the Bonnevilles, Aldous Harding and the mysterious Daughn Gibson (Lake Mary, Not Mysterious). But none of those are especially speaking to us at the moment. Um ...
IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK
Couple weeks ago Texas music legand Terry Allen released Blood Sucking Maniacs (Paradise of Bachelors), a project created with family and close friends. The track we shared, "No Rush To Fly", featured lead vocals by Terry's grandson Calder Allen. Turns out we whiffed on Calder's solo album, Fault Lines, back in March.
Calder Allen's third project pairs him again with producer/instrumentalist Charlie Sexton (and Jacob Sciba), who lends the sessions a clean, direct polish. It's not just Allen's lineage that draws our attention. He is becoming an excellent songwriter, drawing from the deep and muddy Texas tradition without becoming mired in its easy conventions. "Howl" glows like a summer sunset, with Martie Maguire's fiddle and tastefully restrained pedal steel (plus, Uncle Bukka's keyboard). A guitar-forward blues-rocker, "Norwood County Line" speaks to Allen's confidence as a bandleader.
As a vocalist, Allen dodges expectations as well, his delivery favoring rock edge over country twang. The hooky "Sideways" unspools with the appeal of 90s chart-rockers like the Wallflowers. There's more than a touch of Ryan Bingham in Allen's singing as well, another artist who has gathered the young artist under his wing. "Fault Lines" addresses his decision to pursue the family trade rather than college or his love for sport fishing. But to his credit, Calder's music sounds nothing like his grandfather's output. Despite subtle contributions from Jon Randall and Jack Ingram, Fault Lines succeeds on the strength of Allen's songs. Sexton and Sciba bring the sessions an undeniable sonic relevance, but the album owes its depth to Calder Allen. "Daylight Saves" merits repeat spins, an acoustic beauty that will compete among our favorites at the year's end. Let it serve as our intro to a promising artist whose trajectory is worth following.
ROUTES-cast May 10, 2026
^ Calder Allen, "Daylight Saves" Fault Lines (Allen, 26) D
- Ashley McBryde, "Water In the River" Wild (Warner, 26)
- 49 Winchester, "Oh Savannah" Change Of Plans (New West, May 15)
- Waylon Payne, "Holding On To Lonely" single (Big Loud Texas, 26) D
- Caleb Caudle, "Anxious" Heavy Thrill (Handplow, Jun 5)
- Michaela Anne, "Will You Still Love Me With a Broken Heart" These Are the Days (Georgia June, 26)
- Ben Chapman, "Baby Blue" Feet On Fire (Hippie Shack, May 22)
- JW Francis, "Jeffrey" single (JFW, 26) D
- Susto, "E-350 (ft Joshua Hedley)" Susto Stringband Vol 2 (Susto, May 29)
- Whitehorse, "Pure Poetry" All I Want Is All Of It (Six Shooter, 26)
- Ramsey Thornton, "Tony's Song (ft Ken Pomeroy)" I Called It! (Gar Hole, May 15)
- Haylie Davis, "Give Me a Rainbow" Wandering Star (Fire, Jun 5)
- Breakfield, "Straight For Heartbreak" Breakfield (Rounder, Jun 12)
- Josiah & the Bonnevilles, "Carolina Heart" As Is (Rounder, 26)
- Allison Russell, "Cold April (ft Kara Jackson, Denitia)" In the Hour Of Chaos (Fantasy, Jul 10) D
- Eli Paperboy Reed, "Nobody But Me" single (Yep Roc, 26) D
- Low Cut Connie, "Can't Be Wrong" Livin In the USA (Contender, Jul 3)
- Whitney, "See You Later I'm Gone" single (Whitney, 26) D
- Thomas Dollbaum, "Pulverize" Birds Of Paradise (Dear Life, May 22)
- Tracey Nelson, "86" Hercules (perennial, Jul 10)
- Futurebirds, "Fly On" Far Out Country (Dualtone, Sep 4)
- Deer Tick, "ACI" Coin-O-Matic (ATO, Jun 5)
- Natural Child, "Biloxi Blues" Wooden (Natural Child, May 22)
- Kurt Vile, "Zoom 97" Philadelphia's Been Good To Me (Verve, May 29)
- Zoh Amba, "Eyes Full" Eyes Full (Matador, Jun 5)
- Case Oats, "Bottom Of An Afternoon" single (Merge, 26) D
- Gun Outfit, "A Little Game" Process and Reality (Upset the Rhythm, 26)
- Aldous Harding, "What Am I Gonna Do" Train On the Island (4AD, 26)
- Daughn Gibson, "Saint Paul" Lake Mary Not Mysterious (El Ed Eb, 26)
- Lambchop, "Weakened" Punching the Clown (Merge, Aug 21) D
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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:
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