ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 30, 2026
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
^Hans Williams, "Holey Fence" Songs For the Neighbors (Giant, Nov 13)
New Orleans transplant Williams presses the mellow button on his November collection, trading in a lush, melodic country-folk. This yearning third single from the project is simply lovely, with its spacious pedal steel and California blue delivery: Saw you dancing / Dancing off in another life / So did you ever find the peace you need?
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Chatham County Line, "Blackeyed Boy" Wilder Beauty (Yep Roc, Feb 5)
Somehow on the verge of releasing their eleventh full-length, North Carolina's Chatham County Line have always been more than the sum of their parts. Featuring input from Brad Cook and Aoife O'Donovan, their new stuff continues to overflow the typical boundaries of acoustic music. Though, as you will notice, there is not a single true video among this week's picks.
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MJ Lenderman w/Lambchop, "Weakened" Demoed EP (Merge, Nov 20)
We're looking forward to this EP, wherein friends of Lambchop try their hand at building on unadorned demos from the already pretty unadorned Punching the Clown. On this day when we're apparently in a truly mellow mood, Lenderman relaxes wonderfully into this unadorned acoustic cut, like a rambling, mid-period Richmond Fontaine.
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Lefty Parker, "Punish Me" single (ATO, 26)
A brand new signing to the ATO label, Lefty Parker has previously collaborated with members of Big Thief and Twain, and he releases his debut Big Label single as he prepares for a tour with our beloved mary in the junkyard. There's a harrowing, haunted note to "Punish Me", born in the wake of a dream of the death of a friend. Happy Halloween.
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Chad Ray Turner, "Say When" Fingers Crossed (Well Kept Secret, Jan 29)
We're back in New Orleans for the week's final pick, from an artist who has apparently bounced from one corner of the country to the other and back again, finally deciding (his words): I tried everything and looked everywhere. There's really no point in anything, actually. But we're here, still, somehow ... and this whole fucking thing is magic. This has the makings of a great TED Talk.
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