LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 26, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're continuing to dabble in the pantheon this week, assessing the songs of some of the more prominent and mainstream artists in our kind of music. For this Episode, we're celebrating the essential collaborative genius of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. 

Upon its 1996 release, Revival hit like a hammer, Welch's ages-old voice and timeless songs creating such an immediate impression, like a record we'd known for years. Along with Hell Among the Yearlings and 2001's Time (the Revelator), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were responsible for arguably one of the most impactful three-record runs in the history of our kind of music. The sheer quantity and quality of the duo's music during this time only became more evident with the 2020 unearthing of the Boots volumes, featuring a treasury of unreleased numbers. While these were termed outtakes and demos, much of the music in that box was as good as anything from the proper LPs. 

Nothing was included in our list from 2020's All the Good Times, a collection focusing on covers and trad cuts. We also chose not to include anything from Rawlings' own solo work, even as his contributions under the Gillian Welch name are essential. 

GiLLiAN WELCH & DAViD RAWLiNGS: thirty favorites

- "Orphan Girl" Revival  (1996)

- "Paper Wings" 

- "Tear My Stillhouse Down"

- "Acony Bell"

- "Caleb Meyer" Hell Among the Yearlings  (1998)

- "My Morphine"

- "I'm Not Afraid To Die"

- "Revelator" Time (The Revelator)  (2001)

- "My First Lover"

- "Dear Someone"

- "Elvis Presley Blues"

- "Everything Is Free"

- "Look At Miss Ohio" Soul Journey  (2003)

- "Wayside/Back In Time"

- "Wrecking Ball"

- "Way It Goes" Harrow & the Harvest  (2011)

- "Hard Times"

- "455 Rocket" Boots No 1: Official Revival Bootleg  (2016)

- "Wichita" 

- "DryTown"

- "Strange Isabella" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 1  (2020)

- "Valley Of Tears"

- "Rambling Blade" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 2  (2020)

- "Hundred Miles" 

- "I Just Want You To Know"

- "Sin City" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 3  (2020)

- "City Girl" 

- "Peace In the Valley" 

- "Empty Trainload Of Sky" Woodland  (2024)

- "Hashtag" 

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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:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (August 25, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 25, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

The heck with this week. Has anyone taken a look at NEXT week's release calendar?! New full lengths on the way from (deep breath) Alabama Shakes, Dogwood Tales, Fruition, Jayhawks, Mama's Broke, Riley Downing, Son Volt and more! We'd be happy and justified in writing about any one of those. And that's just the stuff we know about, not to mention any unexpected surprises. 

Okay, so this week we gave some consideration to new projects from Brennan Wedl, Squirrel Flower, and Wild Pink, before deciding that our time would be best spent on Lambchop. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

A couple years ago we visited a nearby record store for the first time. Just for the sake of orientation, we asked if they had anything from Lambchop. The person at the counter responded, You mean the little puppet? No. No sir, we do not mean the little puppet. 

Lambchop deserves better. Kurt Wagner has spent more than thirty years challenging our expectations of qualities such as beauty, normalcy, roots, and outsider. Early projects found Lambchop lumped in with the mid-90s alt.country bin, at best an exceptionally loose assessment. Increasingly, Wagner was experimenting with folk, soul, and studio manipulation, cloaking his typically simple songs with beats and interesting digital backdrops. Even if albums weren't always entirely successful, nobody could accuse Lambchop of being dull. 

After so many years fiddling in the studio, Punching the Clown arrives as the most refreshingly normal project Kurt Wagner and company have undertaken in recent memory. Which might mean it's actually the most unexpected. The premise of Punching pairs acoustic songs with choral lined-out singing courtesy of the Eau Claire Vocal Sextet. Arranged by Blake Morgan, while these harmonies are rooted in worship, they largely serve a textural purpose here, like a subtle breeze of voices following Wagner's lead. 

From the man himself: In early 2024 I heard a song on the radio on my way to get some gas. Just a minimal single chord strummed banjo and a small group of voices. It seemed perfect in the moment as the moment became perfect in itself ... I wanted to make a record that emulated this kind of music.

Throughout Lambchop's oeuvre, Kurt Wagner's basic songs have remained consistent, wry and eliptical lyrics delivered in his unsteady, dry-as-leaves drawl. On the album's opener, "Just West Of Nicollet", he sings Let the windows stay open / In the wild Mid West / There's things in Minnesota / It's the wildest place that I've found yet. Accompanied by Justin Vernon's banjo and Andrew Broder's guitar, the choral waves rise and fall, wax and wane, cresting briefly only towards the song's close. "Weakened" adds minor studio burbles and manipulation, with Wagner possibly narrating the proceedings: Things had gotten peculiar / The grainy underwater / Singing sounds in his head. 

Punching the Clown doesn't plop us in the pews by any means. This isn't The Gospel According To Lambchop. On the title cut, the chorale answers Wagner's I'm trying not to sound like I'm punching the clown with their own Wait, what the fuck. Nevertheless, there is a curious juxtaposition between the formality of the vocal arrangements and the folky informality of Lambchop's acoustic songs. The pairing is most mutually complimentary on "New World Wave" or "Cigar", pieces that invest the choir with a more active role: I'll meet you at Benton Chapel / Let it all go down / To the holy town / And share a lot of singing. 

While the addition of the Vocal Sextet sets the plot for the project, the theme lies more with Kurt Wagner's voice and Vernon's banjo. For those of us who have followed Lambchop for years across new settings and experiments, Punching the Clown is actually a breath of fresh air, allowing us access once again to Wagner straight, no (or little) chaser. Once again, we're left with the recurring questions of beauty and normalcy. The line-singing is beautiful at times, and we wouldn't be listening if there wasn't a base attraction to Lambchop's outsider folk. Time will no doubt see the collaborators following a new distraction (and we'll be there for it). For today, we're willing to brand Punching the Clown among Lambchop's more successful dalliances, a quietly engaging push-and-pull between minimalism and something more. Like a Kool-Aid smile in a scallop shell / We're cracking up in the kitchen / I'm overweight, you're overwhelmed / But it's good ...

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ROUTES-cast August 23, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 23, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast August 23, 2026

^ Brennan Wedl, "High Priestess" Brennan Wedl  (Anti, 26)

- Pieta Brown, "Nothin' But Trouble" Dreamin' Of  (Righteous Babe, 26)

- Ken Pomeroy, "Sentimental Lady" Tonight's News EP  (Rounder, 26)

- Brothers Comatose, "High Hoping" single  (Swamp Jam, 26)  D

- Billy Strings, "10,000 Miles From a Friend" So Much For Goodbyes  (Reprise, Aug 28)

- Buddy Miller, "As Long As I Have You" Buddy Miller  (New West, Sep 11)

- Katie Pruitt, "Aftermath" Fools For the Fleeting  (Rounder, Sep 18)

- Lawrence Rothman, "Stable" Here Lies Love/Sawdust To Stardust  (KRO, Sep 25)

- Pony Bradshaw, "Jukebox Oblivion" Ode To Humidity  (Dogs Of the South, 26)

- Ray Wylie Hubbard, "Cassette Mix Tape" Reel 2 Reel 4 Real  (WylieWorld, 26)

- Benjamin Tod, "Waiting For a Train" Country Is Dead  (Tod, Sep 4)  D

- Hollis Brown, "Garage Days" single  (Hollis Brown, 26)  D

- Yawpers, "Company Man" Teething  (DTTW, Sep 4)

- Jared Hart, "Law Of Subtraction" Midnight Motel  (Mt Crushmore, Oct 28)  D

- Small Pond, "Silver Coin" Soft Burn  (Small Pond, Oct 21)  D

- Squirrel Flower, "Cleveland" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, 26)

- OK Cowgirl, "God Made a Farmer" Rhinestone Cowgirl  (Easy Does It, 26)

- Wild Pink, "Still Coming Down" Still Coming Down  (Fire Talk, 26)

- Nicole Atkins, "Trippin' On Teardrops" Drama  (Sun, Sep 17)

- Leon Bridges, "Take It Over" Happiness Anytime  (Columbia, Sep 25)

- Lambchop, "Just West Of Nicollet" Punching the Clown  (Merge, 26)

- Hudson Freeman, "I-40" single  (Mom+Pop, 26)  D

- Big Trouble, "Mel" On Elephant Hill  (Royal Oakie, Sep 18)  D

- Attention Bird Utopia, "Mitzrayim" Mitzrayim EP  (ABU, 26)  D

- Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Boney" The Old Beloved Path  (Fat Possum, Sep 18)

- Ruby Of Thanks, "Shadow" Before You Turn Into a Dog  (Woodsist, Sep 18)

- James Eichman, "If I Talk Loud Enough" St Catherine Street  (Eichman, 26)

- Jude Brothers, "Desire & Devotion" Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, Sep 25)  D

- Will Hasell, "Spindrift" Roadkill Heart  (Suddenly, 26)  D

- John Prine, "All For the Love Of a Girl" Found Dogs  (Oh Boy, Oct 8)

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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:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (August 21, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 21, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Some weeks there are more interesting singles than there are full album releases. This week flips that equation, with a handful of very good LPs landing on our digital shelves, but not a bunch of tempting singles. Neverthless, we persist, and we've tracked down five (5) neat songs for your Friday festivity, many of them replete with distracting videos. On account of a busy day, we're going to just plop these down here without comment for the moment. We'll add clever notes as/if time permits. We're assuming here you enjoy our pithy asides. Much like Jude Brothers (above) assumes you enjoy harp playing and puppets. 

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^ Jude Brothers, "Desire & Devotion"  Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, Sep 25)

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Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Boney" The Old Beloved Path  (Fat Possum, Sep 18)

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Nicole Atkins, "Trippin' On Teardrops" Drama  (Sun, Sep 17)

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Small Pond, "Silver Coin"  Soft Burn  (Small Pond, Oct 21)

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Squirrel Flower, "Cleveland" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, 26)

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (August 20, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

August 20, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

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^ John Ross is Wild Pink. Line Of Best Fit is talking to John Ross on the occasion of the release of Still Coming Down. The sixth Wild Pink record arrives in the wake of a cancer scare, a relocation from Florida to New York, and time on stage with MJ Lenderman. How did you spend your Summer? 

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Here at R&B HQ, we like to extend our musical reach as far as it makes sense (to us). We prefer to draw as few lines as possible in the process, letting music be music. We don't believe in a genre called queer country, even as we acknowledge the importance of diverse voices in each and every genre. That said, Bandcamp Daily has assembled a quick review of artists who represent the queer perspective in our kind of music. Some of these we've included in our weekly Spotify ROUTES-casts, and others not so much. Folks like River Shook and Andrew Sa should be on your radar no matter where you draw your lines. 

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If you're a fan of contemporary country music (or music in general), you owe it to yourself to spend some time with Elizabeth Cook's Great Television. CBS Saturday Sessions took our advise, and uploaded a terrific video of Cook and her band running through "Sunset Promenade". If you're a fan of contemporary country music (or music in general), you owe it to yourself to spend some time with it. 

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Welcome to Westside Cowboy Week. DIY Magazine touches base with the UK act about university freshers week, staying true to the dinky small and rough sound of their early days, and making the choice to record in Leeds instead of NYC. 

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Next week is Mama's Broke Week, celebrating the release of the duo's Reunion LP. KLOF Magazine tracks down Amy Lou Keeler and Lisa Maria in Nova Scotia to explore the origins and inspirations for their original folk music. 

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Against their best efforts, it looks like our beloved Twisted Teens are on the verge of superstardom. Pitchfork reports that the garage punk-blues duo have signed with Sub Pop. Dear Sub Pop, don't change a thing. Love, Routes & Branches. 

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We let last week's release date pass without acknowledging the release of Nina Winder-Lind's Wild Love. A contributor to the New Eves, Winder-Lind's new collection has enchanted and challenged us this week (which is all we ask of music). Under the Radar shared a brief profile of the artist, who dwells in the brambles and thorns of folk music's fringes like we like. 

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Do we need more Kevin Morby content? Let's ponder that as we connect with World Cafe and their live interview and performance. Morby admits his recent Little Wide Open is a love letter to the Midwest. There's somebody for everybody, isn't there. 

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Wanna see a sprawling list of 2026 releases? Spend some time with A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. Since we last checked, we've added new stuff from artists like Jude Brothers, whose Dogwood Maiden Voyage has received a September 25 release date via the increasingly excellent Gar Hole label. Cameron Winter is the frontguy for Geese, the saviors of all things rock. Live At Carnegie Hall documents a live solo show (at Carnegie Hall), and is expected on October 9 (Partisan). Ask for October 23 off from work to observe the release of a handful of good things. Foot Ox will offer Topanga Canyon, courtesy of Lauren Records. That very day, we're also looking forward to Popfly, a full-length from the impressively productive Michael Nau. Finally, upon the occasion of the surprise release of this week's Ode To Humidity, Pony Bradshaw also shared that he's planning a November 13 appointment for a companion record, Through a Glass Darkly (Dogs Of the South). 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Jason Isbell

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 19, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

After fooling around in the beloved weeds of our kind of music for the past few weeks, we're going to drag this thing back into the mainstream with our favorite songs from Jason Isbell. 

If we wanted a real challenge we might include the writer's songs during his Drive-By Truckers days. As a solo artist, or as frontman for his 400 Unit, Isbell has penned some of the best work of his generation. It's not hard to argue that both Southeastern and Something More Than Free could be considered among the highlights of the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century. 

Our Thirty Favorites list doesn't include anything from the handful of live collections Isbell has released over the years. Nor do we add anything from 2021's Georgia Blue, a terrific project of covers celebrating the music of the Peach State. And even with those exclusions we're left with surfeit of gems from which to choose. 

Last year's solo acoustic Foxes In the Snow seems to have served as a reset of sorts for Jason Isbell, stepping back from a very successful run of records and tireless touring. But there is no need for reinvention or new directions for a writer of his caliber. 

JASON ISBELL: thirty favorites

- "Brand New Kind Of Actress" Sirens Of the Ditch  (2007)

- "Chicago Promenade" 

- "Dress Blues" 

- "Seven-Mile Island" Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit  (2009)

- "Cigarettes and Wine" 

- "Streetlights" 

- "Alabama Pines" Here We Rest  (2011)

- "Codeine" 

- "Tour Of Duty" 

- "Cover Me Up" Southeastern  (2013)

- "Traveling Alone" 

- "Elephant" 

- "Super 8"

- "If It Takes a Lifetime" Something More Than Free  (2015)

- "24 Frames" 

- "How To Forget" 

- "Children Of Children"

- "The Life You Chose"

- "Something More Than Free"

- "Last Of My Kind" The Nashville Sound  (2017)

- "If We Were Vampires"

- "Hope the High Road"

- "What've I Done To Help" Reunions  (2020)

- "Dreamsicle"

- "Only Children"

- "King Of Oklahoma" Weathervanes  (2023)

- "Cast Iron Skillet" 

- "Bury Me" Foxes In the Snow  (2025)

- "Foxes In the Snow"

- "Wind Behind the Rain"

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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:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (August 18, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 16, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're presented with a couple options for this week's breakout review, including an unexpected gem from Pony Bradshaw and an EP marking a big step forward for Hank Heaven. As we've noted, we'll probably loop back around to Bradshaw this Fall. This week's showcase spot belongs to a career-defining collection from a performer who is ready for her roses. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

After years of dancing around her potential, Elizabeth Cook has landed with Great Television (Agent Love). Never short on talent or songwriting chops, and collaborating with respected producers like Butch Walker and Don Was, the East Nashville artist has earned her reputation on very good projects like 2007's Balls and 2016's fiery Exodus Of Venus. Turns out it was a smart decision to await her turn with Shooter Jennings, who embraces Cook's solid songs with full, contemporary arrangements for the best-sounding record of her career. 

On Great Television, Elizabeth Cook is smartly supported by her touring band, featuring the valuable Andrew Leahey on guitar, as well as bassist Phil Anthony and John Venezia on drums. Past albums have proven her proficiency with all shades of country, from honky-tonk to gospel. Most songs here lean into a country-rock pocket, allowing room for shades of blues and soul. Cook's collaboration with Turnpike Troubadours' Evan Felker, "Razorwire Wall", charges into a Petty-inspired guitar hook as it tells the story of a woman dropping her moonshining husband off for his prison appointment. "Caledonia and the Love Convoy" is another good-natured roadsong, detouring into familiar blues territory. Cook and her outfit even find an original angle covering the Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown", flipping its perspective and bending it a'la Nancy Sinatra. 

Elizabeth Cook's facecard is her songwriting, particularly her penchant for championing unsung voices from the margins. "Girls Of Atomic City" and "Thiokol Tripwire" build on accounts of women exploited in the workplace, teasing a rousing chorus from the ashes of history. A duet with Wynonna, "Easy Kind" names names like Britney, Courtney, and Whitney to call out outsized expectations and a lack of support for young women in music. Jennings stirs the drama with a choral backing. Where past efforts have found Cook likened to everyone from John Prine to her friend Todd Snider, she defines her own territory on Great Television, clever but never silly, strongly opinionated without being a sassy stereotype. 

The story of Elizabeth Cook (as fictionalized in the new Easy Kind series) tells of a phenomenally talented artist who has become a fixture on the Opry stage but who has yet to achieve her potential. Fact is, Great Television is too good for mainstream success. We've gushed aplenty here about "Sunset Promenade", the LP's opener that sets female friendship to one of the year's best melodies. While "Easy Kind" merits breakout attention in its own right, "Sunset Promenade" deserves to be in the conversation for the song of the year. It's the crowning achievement of a collection that leaves no doubt about the artist's uncommon, even generational talent. 

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ROUTES-cast August 16, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 16, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Several things to be happy about this Episode, including one of two surprise records Pony Bradshaw is dropping before the end of 2026. There are few better americana writers among us, and we'll likely devote some review time once that second LP arrives on November 13. We're also enjoying Elizabeth Cook's great Great Television, and Hank Heaven's new EP. No shortage of quality singles either. Put this Spotify ROUTES-cast on REPEAT for a week (or more) of rewarding listening. Or at least one hour and fifty-four minutes of distraction.

ROUTES-cast August 16, 2026

^ Pony Bradshaw, "Demigods In Utopia" Ode To Humidity  (Dogs Of the South, 26)  D

- Samantha Crain, "Tvshki cha foha (ft Ken Pomeroy)" single  (Crain, 26)  D

- Orville Peck, "Already Gone" Mule  (Warner, Sep 18)

- Bill Baird, "Karma Loan" Life Creates Itself  (Royal Oakie, Sep 25)  D

- Jess Williamson, "Tracking the Tropics" Miles South Of Heaven  (New West, Oct 9)

- Elizabeth Moen, "Not You Not Me" Fields On Fire  (Moen, 26)  D

- JP Harris, "Roustabout" Shaving a Dead Man  (Bloodshot, Oct 23)

- Goodnight Texas, "Argentina (Goodbye For Now)" Wooden Machine  (Goodnight Tx, Sep 15)

- Aubory Bugg, "The One You Want To Lose" I Think I Had Something Once  (Dualtone, Sep 18)

- Jonathan Something, "Gasoline" One More Lonesome Cowboy Song  (High Shelter, Oct 16)  D

- Elizabeth Cook, "Thiokol Tripwire" Great Television  (Agent Love, 26)

- Shinyribs, "Arkansas Mud" Real Alligator  (Spaceflight, Oct 9)  D

- Israel Nash, "You Ain't Going Nowhere" Sweetheart Of the Rodeo  (Desert Folklore, Sep 25)  D

- Queen Of Jeans, "Sweet Devotion" hard/SWEET  (Memory Music, Oct 9)  D

- Uncle Lucius, "The Bruxist" Open Eyes Broken Heart  (Boo Clap, Sep 25)  D

- Sadurn, "Never Tell Me" The Underworld  (Run For Cover, Oct 16)

- Lily Seabird, "The Afterglow" Lightspheres On Their Way  (Lame-O, Oct 2)

- Tallest Man On Earth, "Deliver Me From Trying" Just Beyond Endless Mountain  (Anti, Oct 9)  D

- Hank Heaven, "Thread" Welterweight EP  (Nice Life, 26)

- Dogwood Tales, "7xover" Every Star In Rockingham County  (Born Losers, Aug 27)

- Grumpy, "OBL" Unfindable Ring  (Bayonet, Oct 23)  D

- Foot Ox, "Prairie Song"  Topanga Canyon  (Lauren, Oct 23)

- Alex Dupree, "Room For One More" Talking To the Dog  (Scissor Tail, 26)

- Two Runner, "Witch Well" Porchlight  (Warner, Jan 29)

- Amble, "Last Rites" Love and All Its Wares  (Warner, Jan 29)  D

- Wilder Blue, "When He's Out Of Sight" Cinco  (Hill Country, Aug 28)

- Fenne Lily, "Sleeping" Win Win  (Nettwerk, Oct 23)

- Panamint, "Wrapped Around Your Finger" single  (Panamint, 26)  D

- Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth, "Nervion" Allison de Groot & RIch Ruth  (Western Vinyl, Oct 2)  D

- Hour, "Ghost Bridge" Ghost Bridge  (Dear Life, Oct 9)  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:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (August 14, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 14, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

Samantha Crain, "Tvshki cha foha" single  (Crain, 26)

Samantha Crain is quietly amassing quite a nice collection of singles lately. This new one features support vocals from fellow Oklahoma Native American Ken Pomeroy, as well as some solid percussion from Ramsey Thornton. When we looked up the title on our free online Choctaw translator, it came back with Hello friend / I understand / Thank you for your kindness. Crain herself, however, translates it, Lie down and rest / Tired one / You have strength, and we've got to be honest that we trust Crain here. 

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Tallest Man On Earth, "Deliver Me From Trying" Just Beyond Endless Mountain  (Anti, Oct 9)

You enjoy horses? Boy have we got a video for you. Kristian Matsson's new single from the just-announced album features his familiar delivery, as well as his sometimes impenetrable lyrics, though the arrangement updates the TMOE sound a bit. It's like a bonfire blues / To a shivering god ... We don't know what it means, but we like it. And, to be honest, we're just happy to have a video to share. 

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Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth, "Nervion" Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth  (Western Vinyl, Oct 2)

Perhaps you're in the mood for banjo, but maybe clawhammer from another planet? The Canadian player has received all the accolades for her trad work. Rich Ruth is the stage name for multi-instrumentalist Michael Ruth, who was set to produce a record for de Groot until the project went way left. With contributions from Spencer Cullum and Patrick McGonigle, the record promises to take folk, old-timey and bluegrass where it's probably never been. 

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Sadurn, "Never Tell Me" The Underworld  (Run For Cover, Oct 16)

It's not necessary that you have fun in your video. Sometimes it's just enough to chase horses around a field. But we're all about the music here, and we're increasingly eager to hear the rest of Sadurn's October full-length. It's not enough to keep us together / But I'm in love with the sleeve of your dress / I'm in love with your shoulder - this is a lovely, midtempo number with a sweet lyric, even if the video plays like Blair Witch reinterpreted by Sid and Marty Krofft. 

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Panamint, "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (Paramint, 26)

... aaaand, of course, we'll finish things off for the week with a Post Malone cover. This one comes courtesy of singer-songwriter Anna St Louis and Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, performing under the name Panamint. The duo opt for a light-as-foam approach, encouraging Posty's pop in more of a late-night direction. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (August 13, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

August 13, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Hey, what's new? If you're looking for a literal answer, check out our compulsively updated new release calendar, A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. Over the past week, we've added new announcements from folks like the Yawpers, whose Teething should reach us on or about September 4 (DTTW). After almost calling it quits, Uncle Lucius are in it to win it. They'll unleash Open Eyes Broken Heart on September 25 (Boo Clap). What we really want is a Gourds project. That said, we're pleased to see Kev Russell's Shinyribs looking to October 9 for the appearance of his Real Alligator (Spaceflight). Nothing wrong with a new Joan Shelley record, even if it's a deluxe edition of something we've already got. Over and Even + Demos includes ... well, demos of songs from those sessions (No Quarter, Oct 16). Finally, we can always count on Caroline Rose for boundary-challenging stuff. See, f'rinstance, Gentling the Horse At Walt Whitman Mall, set for an October 23 release (SUCK). 

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^ Our updates lately have paid frequent attention to the forthcoming record by Nate Amos and This Is Lorelei. NME has shared a good, long profile of Mr Amos. Among other info, the piece notes that next month's The Singer In My Band, gets closer to roots music than Amos has before. We expect this to be one of the more impactful indie-roots releases for the year. 

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This is neat. In conjunction with this week's release of her Bluegrass Women album, Lindsay Lou is releasing a four-part documentary about the creation of the record, which celebrates the female contribution to the history of bluegrass music. Part 1 is on her YouTube page. 

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We love Waylon Payne's recent Wayward LP, and have always felt he would be able to write a great memoir. Short of that happening, we're here for Americana UK's conversation with the songwriter, wherein he talks about the family business, playing with Willie Nelson's beard, and being taken in by a drag queen. 

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We've been sharing new Chaparelle singles as they're released, eager for the duo of Zella Day and Jesse Woods to declare their plan for a full-length. While we're biding our time, Grateful Web tells of Bleeding Hearts, a documentary about the act that will be debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

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Here's a concerning update to the store we shared a few weeks ago about the suspension of activity at Levon Helm Studios. It's being alleged that Amy Helm's reported mismanagement might have included a degree of financial impropriety. Stereogum has more info. Unless it's disappeared behind their cruel and imposing paywall. You might want to check if Pitchfork's account is available. Otherwise you'll just have to search for yourself. 

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Thee Sacred Souls are presently on tour with LA Lom and the Womack Sisters. Glide Magazine catches up with the bass player, Sal Salmano, to chat about how the tour came together. 

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Eric Bachman was at Wuxtry Records in Athens, Georgia. A new video reveals his haul following a  crate diving session.  It should be noted that Bachman's Crooked Fingers produced Swet Deth in February. 

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Last week we bemoaned the shuttering of Brooklyn Vegan, among our most valued music blogs. Andrew Sacher, one of the site's longtime writers, has introduced Unhappy Place, a Substack where he'll be publishing his reflections on new music for the time being. You might considering subscribing as a strategy for upping your flow of email. Yesterday's post highlighted a handful of great new alt.country tracks!

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Saving Country Music unveils info about Hello Honky Tonk, a new collection by Kaitlin Butts. It certainly didn't hurt her cause that Butts carried a key role in the video for the unrivaled Song Of the Summer, Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas". 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Handsome Family

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 12, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Handsome Family have only become odder the more they have played it straight. Brett and Rennie Sparks have remained true to their outsider vision, even when their "Far From Any Road" became one of popular music's most unlikely hits as the theme song for the opening season of True Detective in 2014. While Brett's sturdy, sober delivery makes any Handsome Family song immediately recognizable, Rennie's lyrics make them exceptional. Dark, hallucinatory, concerning. Answering the question of how it might sound if the Brothers Grimm were products of our own age, turning to roots music rather than written fables. 

"Far From Any Road" aside, Handsome Family have never been embraced by the mainstream of our kind of music, though any playlist of gothic americana would be incomplete without their contribution. The Sparks have pre-announced a Spring 2027 tour, which kindles hope for their first new stuff in a couple years. We would make a case for In the Air, Singing Bones, and Last Days Of Wonder as the height of Handsome Family's dark arts, even as more recent projects continue to sound great. 

We include here a few covers, including the duo's take on a Bottle Rockets tune, and another reinterpreting Wilco's "Capitol City". Both Smothered and Covered and Scattered offer some strong trad work, as well as their requisite run through Dylan's catalogue. But Handsome Family succeed on their own terms, checking the novelty box simply by following their own bent, sincere muse. 

 

HANDSOME FAMiLY: thirty favorites

- "Arlene" Odessa  (1995)

- "Everything That Rises Must Converge" 

- "Drunk By Noon" Milk & Scissors  (1996)

- "Lake Geneva"

- "Weightless Again" Through the Trees  (1998)

- "My Sister's Tiny Hands"

- "Stalled"

- "Giant Of Illinois"

- "So Much Wine" In the Air  (2000)

- "Don't Be Scared" 

- "All the TVs In Town"

- "Cold Cold Cold"

- "Natalie Wood" Smothered and Covered  (2002)

- "24-Hour Store" Singing Bones  (2003)

- "Bottomless Hole"

- "Far From Any Road"

- "Fallen Peaches"

- "Your Great Journey" Last Days Of Wonder  (2006)

- "Flapping Your Broken Wings" 

- "Little Sparrows" Honey Moon  (2009)

- "A Thousand Diamond Rings"

- "Drinking Beer On the Road" Scattered  (2010)

- "Caterpillars" Wilderness  (2013)

- "1000 Dollar Car" While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years Of Bloodshot Records  (2014)

- "Gold" Unseen  (2016)

- "Back In My Day" 

- "Capitol City" single  (2019)

- "Joseph" Hollow  (2023)

- "King Of Everything" 

- "To the Oaks" 

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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:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (August 11, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 11, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

NYC songwriter/guitarist Margaret Glaspy has ranged across a good amount of stylistic territory for an artist who has just released their fourth full-length. Glaspy's aptly-titled Emotions and Math (2016) introduced her as a confident performer, a purveyor of songs with teeth and sophistication. While 2020's Devotion has been dismissed as Glaspy's foray into synth-pop, the project is successful in its ability to package her songs in a more major key, in addition to acknowledging her diverse vocal ability. Co-produced by partner Julian Lage, Echo the Diamond (2023) brought back Glaspy's electric guitar, and delivered some of her edgiest sounds to date. An EP of covers, last year's Golden Heart Protector spoke to some of her stylistic influences, from Wilco to Lucinda. Margaret Glaspy's new I Am Both (ATO) positions itself smartly at the intersection of these varied expressions. 

For her new sessions, Glaspy turned to Joe Henry for production. A veteran singer-songwriter, Henry has earned a reputation for his austere economy of sound, both as a producer and a performer. For I Am Both, he brings some frequent collaborators to support Glaspy, including drummer Jay Bellerose, Patrick Warren on keys, and bassist Ross Gallagher. The result is a first-take immediacy, an artfully light touch that belies the teeth of Margaret Glaspy's lyrics. While she has always tended towards more skeletal arrangements, these new sessions are almost entirely acoustic, presenting the songs in as close to folk settings as we've heard from Glaspy. The singer opts for a conversational sung/spoken delivery for songs like the title track and "I Thought She Was a Song". 

Many of the pieces on I Am Both highlight the practice of carrying contradiction, both in terms of identity and in our interpersonal connections. One of the record's rare electric guitar sightings, "Petty" begins, Can't you read my mind / I thought telepathy was a requirement for love. "James and Marie" is a sketch of a relationship set to a drum shuffle. Glaspy observes, She once thought he was a god / Now he's a boy that's flowed. The narrator of "I Thought She Was a Song" recalls their admiration for a free-spirited high school classmate. Glaspy has spoken of taking a reset approach to her writing, resulting in a consistent sophistication and thoughtfulness that is by turns artful and direct. 

Like Anna Tivel or Tamara Lindeman of Weather Station, Margaret Glaspy exercises a keen eye for moments in time that speak to a more abiding truth. On the album watermark, "Michigan", she asks, You said you didn't need me / Well who's standing in whose driveway.  The song plays like a familiar Greenwich folk number. Among the collection's fullest cuts, "That Rose" finds Glaspy exercising her poetic pen: I dreamt you looked into the clouds like they were my eyes / You made them blush - the clouds got shy / And made a red sky. She addresses the value in simply showing up on "Reminder": Doing nothing is something I do too well. 

Working with Joe Henry to retool her sound has served to bring her vocal and lyrical gifts to the forefront. Always a skilled if restrained guitarist, Glaspy's instrumental gifts are complimented as well, especially in light of Bellerose's expressive percussion. I Am Both is quite a percussive record, in terms of vocal flow and guitar. Margaret Glaspy's exercise in restraint actually speaks to her boldness and artistic courage, her singing both fragile and confidently wielded. On the title cut, her spoken/sung recitation echoes Gil Scott-Heron: He said I lived too close to the train tracks / Well if you ask me I'm just a little too far back / I like a little whistle in my life. 

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ROUTES-cast August 9, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 9, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast August 9, 2026

^ Mama's Broke, "Old-Fashioned Love Song" Reunion  (Free Dirt, Aug 28)

- Ocie Elliott, "Her Eyes Dart Round" Felice County Fair (Celebration Of the Felice Brothers)  (Sony, Oct 16)

- Low Gap, "Amtrak Train" single  (Cloverdale, 26)

- Bonnie Prince Billy, "London May (Live In the City Of Ghosts)" Ghosts Of American Psychonauts  (No Quarter, Sep 18)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "True Love Will Find You In the End" Blackwood Pew EP  (Verve, Oct 23)  D

- Riley Downing, "Helen & Gene" Landfill Poetry  (Oh Boy, Aug 28)

- Kacy Lee Anderson, "Giving In" Hello I'm Irrelevant  (Earth Libraries, Oct 23)  D

- Palmyra, "Pick Me Up" Cheap Beer EP  (Oh Boy, Sep 18)

- Margo Cilker, "Little White Cross" Little White Cross  (Fossil, Oct 9)  D

- Sierra Ferrell, "Trying To Love You" single  (Rounder, 26)  D

- Sam Burton, "I'm a Stranger" Fairweather Friend  (Captured Tracks, Oct 29)  D

- Silverada, "Second Hand" Living Proof  (Edgewater, 26)

- Star Room Boys, "Why Do Lonely Men and Women Break Each Other's Hearts" Why Do Lonely Men and Women Break Each Other's Hearts  (Strolling Bones, Sep 25)  D

- Shaun Couture, "Scratch Off Ticket" single  (General Store, 26)  D

- Futurebirds, "Pretty Eyes" Far Out Country  (Dualtone, Sep 4)

- Left Arm Tan, "Rolling Under the Stars" When Tigers Smoked  (LAT, Oct 9)  D

- Steve Earle & Los Lobos, "Volver a Celaya" single  (New West, 26)  D

- Tre Burt, "Hold Me Slowly Till I Float" single  (Oh Boy, 26)  D

- Lucy Dacus, "Clay Pigeons" Sittin' With Blaze: Tribute To Blaze Foley  (Lost Art, 26)

- Danielle Ponder, "Sun and Moon" Everything Has Changed  (Dead Oceans, Oct 9)  D

- Margaret Glaspy, "Reminder" I Am Both  (ATO, 26)

- Deloyd Elze, "Drive Like I Never Been Hurt" Nellene (Extended)  (Concord, 26)  D

- This Is Lorelei, "Oh No Now My" Singer In My Band  (Matador, Sep 11)  

- Fort Frances, "Parliament Lights" Fort Frances EP  (Roadblock, 26)  D

- Hollow Hand, "Heavy Metal T-Shirt" Wish Road South  (Loose, Sep 4)

- Lake Street Dive, "You're Never Around" single  (Dive Not Drive, 26)  D

- Alabama Shakes, "Garden" I Must Be Dreaming  (Island, Aug 28)  

- Westside Cowboy, "Dobro" It Goes On  (Island, Aug 21)  D

- Way Dynamic, "Officially" Massive Shoe (Reissue)  (Jagjaguwar, Oct 2)

- @, "Punish My Mind" Autosmile  (4AD, Oct 15)  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:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (August 7, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 7, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

As we've stated, there is no shortage of good new singles on an average week. We can disappear down a deep dark hole mining for just the right songs. We also appreciate a fun video, though we have absolutely none of those this week. Good stuff, though, so just close your eyes and make up your own visuals. 

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Futurebirds, "Pretty Eyes" Far Out Country  (Dualtone, Sep 4)

All of the sudden Futurebirds strike gold. At this point we've heard about half of their forthcoming double LP, Far Out Country, and it's been fine. Over the years we've had no problem representing their slightly sticky alt.country to our playlists, but nothing has hit like this pretty, simple ballad: We're gonna learn to fight it, like it or not / So come on give in to me, dust to divinity. 

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Left Arm Tan, "Rolling Under the Stars" When Tigers Smoked  (LAT, Oct 9)

There's a great story behind Left Arm Tan's return, and we're hoping they'll tell it as the release date approaches. For now, we're happy to share the initial single from When Tigers Smoked. So much to like here, from the insistent low-end pulse to the watercolored pedal steel, and those border-adjacent horns. While we wait for more, we'd recommend you all listen to the band's superb three-album run from 2013-2018: Alticana, Lorene, El Camino ...

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Kacy Lee Anderson, "Giving In" Hello I'm Irrelevant  (Earth Libraries, Oct 23)

Known for her work as one-half of Kacy & Clayton, Canada's Kacy Lee Anderson returns with one of the best LP titles of the year. Where her duo tended towards trad and pastoral, this debut single offers a more updated profile. From her publicity: she's writing the songs she wants to hear, whether anyone else cares or not. Not always the most advisable move, it seems to be working just fine here. 

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Odyssey Cult, Vol 3  (Silver Current, Aug 21)

Here is the only song we've ever represented that has been likened to Lemmy-era Hawkwind. The project of guitarist Ethan Miller, there is certainly a heavy-osity to this one. The evolving outfit's third project includes contributions from an impressively diverse range of friends, from legendary drummer Steve Shelley and squaky sax-player Zoh Amba to long-lost vocalist Paula Frazer. 

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Margo Cilker, "Little White Crosses" Little White Crosses  (Fossil, Oct 9)

The Washington State songwriter turned to Bruce Robison to co-produce her third full-length, following Pohorylle and Valley Of Heart's Delight. Comments Cilker, You could definitely call it a concept record. If that concept is that I got really sad and went to Texas. "Little White Crosses" covers a 2022 song by Christy Hays, a writer who also deserves to be discovered (have you heard "Don't Let Me Die In California"?). 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (August 6, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

August 6, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Here's where we provide readers with a quick and incomplete survey of some of the more engaging stories and sights we've collected this week during our regular jaunts across the 'net. While we strive to populate our own site with as much original content as possible, we're eternally grateful for our fellow bloggers, many of whom are listen among our Good Place To Start links. One of our favorite stops has been Brooklyn Vegan, especially valuable for information regarding new singles. Unfortunately, BV was effectively gutted this week, the operation seemingly shuttered by the site's parent group. With other conglomerators crouching behind a paywall or shutting down altogether, the voices of independent music writers are increasingly valuable. 

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^ Sam & Louise Sullivan perform under one of the least sexy names in all of popular music. Perhaps this is not a surprise, their excellent new Love & Devotion project recorded by a pair of Quaker school teachers from Philadelphia. We hope Stereogum's recent interview hasn't disappeared behind a paywall, but give it a try anyway. 

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Wow. Has it really been since 2019 that we were gifted a new LP from Pieta Brown? We share Twangville's enthusiasm about Dreamin' Of, due later this month. The singer-songwriter spills the details in an interview addressing borrowing her mother-in-law Iris Dement's touring van. And more. 

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Jon Spencer has been an essential force in the continuing fight to land the sound of punk-blues music in every garage in the country. He speaks freely to Retrofuturista on the heels of June's Songs Of Personal Loss and Protest, holding court about overwhelming municipal sewers, the importance of Little Richard in light of the current administration, and Devo's great drummer. 

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We fell in love with Mary In the Junkyard's recent debut, Role Model Hermit. DIY offers a nice interview with the trio, who liken the process of readying their project to giving birth to a horse. 

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As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Racing Mount Pleasant's self-titled debut, the outfit visits KEXP for a wonderful thirty-minute set. They've brought along a violin, a sax, and a pocketful of ambitious progressive folk. 

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While we're enjoying some video content, Paste has cornered Case Oats for a short acoustic set during Wilco's Solid Sound festival. 

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We'll be featuring a new single from This Is Lorelei's forthcoming album very soon. As an apertif, please enjoy this week's long-form interview with the project's ringleader, Nate Amos. Also a member of Water From Your Eyes, the indie rock rascal (their words) chats about growing up the son of bluegrass legend Bob Amos, being banned from Distrokid for uploading too many epic drone dirges, and mainlining Blink 182's All the Small Things on repeat. 

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NYT Popcast offers a nice, long conversation with Conor Oberst, who has been creating music in one form or another since his mid-teens. 

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The talented members of the talented trio, Magic Tuber Stringband wander through the extensive library of Thrill Jockey Records to pull and share some of their favorite and most influential albums from their archives. Thank goodness they are talented, since Magic Tuber Stringband is a phenomenally bad name for a music act. 

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A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster is our way of keeping track of all the year's new and forthcoming releases. This week we added news of Down & Dirty, the down & dirty new LP from David Quinn, awaiting an August 28 street date. Valerie June has announced the pending arrival of Brighter Blue, a new EP courtesy of the Concord label (Sep 11). We're looking forward to hearing some live stuff from Bonnie Prince Billy. No Quarter will release Ghosts Of American Psychonauts come September 18. Ian Noe has (finally) set a date for his long (long)-awaited new record. Canyon Falls Trailer Band will appear wherever music matters on September 25 (Leo13). Finally, Kacy Lee Anderson (one-half of Kacy & Clayton) is looking to October 23 for the unleashing of a solo project, Hello I'm Irrelevant via Earth Libraries. 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Mojave 3

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 5, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

As declared on yesterday's post, this week's Lookback playlist observes the 4AD label's release of remastered editions of Mojave 3's five-LP oeuvre, creatively titled Mojave 3 (1995-2006). While Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon served as a marginal note in our kind of music, it's worth your indulgence. Listeners might recognize notes of more familiar artists like Iron & Wine, Horse Feathers, or Beachwood Sparks/GospelbeacH, though the recordings of Mojave 3 are set apart in light of Halstead's distinctly British sensibility. Tangential links might also be drawn to earlier work from Cowboy Junkies and even Jayhawks. 

What with our always-forward orientation, it's been too long since we spent time with the songs of Mojave 3. Previewing our playlist served to remind us how relevant this stuff remains, how Halstead's artistic formula has proven visionary if not underappreciated. 

MOJAVE 3: thirty favorites

- "Love Songs On the Radio" Ask Me Tomorrow (1995)

- "Sarah"

- "Tomorrow's Taken"

- "You're Beautiful"

- "This Road I'm Traveling" single (1998)

- "Between Us" single (1998)

- "Go Lady Go" single (1998)

- "All I Want" single (1998)

- "Who Do You Love"  Out Of Tune (1998)

- "Give What You Take" 

- "Some Kinda Angel"

- "To Whom Should I Write"

- "In Love With a View"  Excuses For Travellers (2000)

- "Trying To Reach You"

- "My Life In Art"

- "Any Day Will Be Fine"

- "Prayer For the Paranoid"

- "Bringin' Me Home"

- "Girl From the North Country" single (2000)

- "Bluebird Of Happiness" Spoon and Rafter (2003)

- "Starlite #1"

- "Tinkers Blues"

- "She's All Up Above"

- "Too Many Mornings"

- "Between the Bars"

- "Star In the Sky" single (2006)

- "Truck Driving Man" Puzzles Like You (2006)

- "Breaking the Ice"

- "Big Star Baby"

- "The Mutineer" 

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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:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (August 4, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 4, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Back atop the proverbial horse after our week of wayfaring. Fortunately, it hasn't been an especially eventful time for new stuff (though it's our contention that there's always new music if you know where to look). 

Our Tuesday posts are dedicated to celebrating just one record from this constant stream of novelty, knowing that it requires work to keep up with what's new. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

This week we're going to direct your valuable attention back to the late 90s and 00s, when Mojave 3 grew out of the dissolution of Slowdive. Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell (with an evolving cohort including drummer Ian McCutcheon) projected Slowdive's shoegaze forward, opening the hazy buzz to emphasize elements of folk, country, and pop. Over the span of their five (5) records, that evolution included regular use of pedal steel, which occasionally lent Mojave 3's music a subtly rural air. 

The legendary 4AD label has remastered and reissued the British band's LPs in a lovely box set (Mojave 3: (1995-2006) that has since sold out, though the records are individually streamable). Mojave 3 was introduced on 1995's Ask Me Tomorrow, a project that dealt in a low-key psychedelic shoegaze, sometimes trading out Slowdive's electric hum for a more acoustic setting. The band's follow-up, 1998's Out Of Tune, found Halstead and Goswell increasingly defining a more distinct, heavier direction, incorporating more pastoral pop influences in addition to keys and electric guitar. Later collections paid greater attention to melody and songcraft, flirting less with with any country influences. 

Beginning in 2002, Neil Halstead began devoting increased time to solo and side projects (2008's Oh! Mighty Engine is especially worth your attention). Following the release of 2006's Puzzles Like You, Mojave 3 declared a hiatus, and an eventual reformation of Slowdive made any further recordings unlikely. 

Our celebration of Mojave 3's reissues will continue on tomorrow's Episode, when we look back at thirty of our favorite songs from the act's relatively short run. 

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ROUTES-cast August 2, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

August 2, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast August 2, 2026

^ Elijah Wolf, "texaco lights" track star  (Mtn Laurel, 26)  D

- Little Gold, "Pissin" Public Dog  (Tall Texan, 26)

- James Steinle, "Ragged Gunner" single  (Soggy Anvil, 26)  D

- Next Of Kin, "Dimestore Jesus" single  (Next Of Kin, 26)  D

- Chris Gantry, "Boldness Of Spirit" Worth Every Nail  (Appalachia, Oct 23)  D

- David Quinn, "Long Time Gone" single  (Quinn, 26)  

- Lindsay Lou, "I've Endured" Bluegrass Women  (Work Of Bart, Aug 14)

- Billy Strings, "Mill Town Flood" So Much For Goodbyes  (Reprise, Aug 28)

- Mountain Grass Unit, "Suspicion" Appalachian Smoke  (Dualtone, Aug 27)

- Colby T Helms, "Armed and Dangerous" One For the Losers  (Photo Finish, Oct 23)  D

- Angela Autumn, "Heavy Tobacco" Believer  (Gar Hole, Sep 11)

- Ian Noe, "Heidelberg Fisherman's Ball" Canyon Falls Trailer Band  (Lock13, Sep 25)  D

- Bures Band, "Delta" single  (Love Police, 26)  D

- Son Volt, "Serenade Song" Sound Signal Serenades  (Transmit Sound, Aug 28)

- Krista Shows, "Done My Time" single  (Shows, 26)  D

- Kyle Kimbrell, "Helmet Head" Lonesome In the Sky  (Cornelius Chapel, Oct 16)  D

- Ned Collette, "Commandeered Parade" Mixed Light  (Collette, Aug 28)

- Richard Thompson, "Cocaine Walking Booze Talking" Hippies Thugs and Heroes  (New West, Oct 16)  D

- Charlie Parr, "Rooming House" Rooming House  (Smithsonian, Oct 16)  D

- Pieta Brown, "Glitter Town" Dreamin' Of  (Righteous Babe, Aug 21)

- Shannon Lay, "What Does It Mean" Past the Veil  (All the Best, 26)

- Flora Hibberd, "Shelley" Mammoth  (22Twenty, Oct 16) D

- Brennan Wedl, "Let's Be Models" Brennan Wedl  (Anti, Aug 21)

- Sunken Man, "Hearts" Sunken Man  (Single Lock, Sep 25)

- Lawrence Rothman, "Kamakaze (ft Amanda Shires)" Here Lies Love/Sawdust To Stardust  (KRO, Sep 25)

- Yawpers, "Words On Shirts" single  (DTTW, 26)

- Valerie June, "Smokestack" Brighter Blue EP  (Concord, Sep 11)  D

- Sir Richard Bishop, "Sweet Lips Spiritual" Hillbilly Erotica  (Drag City, 26)

- Michael Nau, "Bless Your Wheels" Blue Anymore  (relearn to boogie, 26)

- Caleb Nichols, "A Feeling Of a Feeling Of a Feeling" Stone Age Is Now: Poems From Lithic  (Royal Oakie, Oct 2)  D

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MiSSiNG, PRESUMED HAViNG a GOOD TiME

We're afield this week, roaming on-and-off-the-grid, succumbing to distraction at every turn. While we might find a moment of clarity now and then, there's a good chance we won't have the time to honor this week's daily posting commitments. If something does show up, consider it a bonus. Otherwise, watch this space, and we'll see everyone on the other side of this tangle. 

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ROUTES-cast July 26, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 26, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast July 26, 2026

^ Orville Peck, "Too Little Too Late" Mule  (Warner, Sep 17)  D

- Charles Wesley Godwin, "Hallelujah High" Christian Name  (Big Loud, 26)

- Chaparelle, "Two Steps Closer" single  (Western Pleasure, 26)  D

- Cody Jinks, "Know It All" In My Blood (Deluxe)  (Late August, 26)  D

- Mac Cornish, "I Fear (It's Becoming Clear)" Wayfaring Woman  (Cornish, Sep 25)

- Mo Pitney, "Happy Hour" Outskirts Of Town  (Curb, Mar 26)  D

- Wilder Blue, "Chasin' the Sun" Cinco  (Hill Country, Aug 28)  D

- Sally Rose, "Trash Heap Mountain Treasure Baby (ft Palmyra)" Feral  (Rose, Nov)  D

- Maya de Vitry, "Adaptation" All My Faith  (Mad Maker, 26)

- Fruition, "I'm Not Afraid" Something More  (Bloodshot, Aug 28)

- Katie Pruitt, "Little Boxes" Fools For the Fleeting  (Rounder, Sep 18)

- John Prine, "World Without Love" Found Dogs  (Oh Boy, Oct 9)  D

- Ray Wylie Hubbard, "Look What the Cat Drug In" Reel 2 Reel 4 Real  (WylieWorld, Aug 21)

- Buddy Miller, "Don't Look Back (ft Dan Penn)" Buddy Miller  (New West, Sep 11)  D

- Son Volt, "Coalfield Wars" single  (Transmit Sound, 26)

- Jayhawks, "American Midnight" Sanctuary Park  (SHAM, Aug 28)

- Brennan Wedl, "Two Dollar Pistol" Brennan Wedl  (Anti, Aug 21)

- Rayland Baxter, "The Fool" single  (ATO, 26)  D

- Stef Chura, "Danny" Dancing Alone On the Concrete  (Saddle Creek, Oct 2)  D

- Nathaniel Rateliff, "Aerosol Ball" Felice County Fair: Celebration Of the Felice Brothers  (Sony, Oct 16)

- Nicole Atkins, "Singing In the Mirror" Drama  (Sun, Sep 17)

- Sera Cahoone, "Not How I Hoped" I've Missed You All These Years  (Sub Pop, Aug 28)

- Ned Collette, "Curious Thing" Mixed Light  (Collette, Aug 28)  D

- Johanna Samuels, "Full Story" Sorry Kid  (Jealous Butcher, Aug 13)

- Sam & Louise Sullivan, "Since I Left" Love & Devotion  (Historic New Jersey, 26)

- Lambchop, "New World Wave" Punching the Clown  (Merge, Aug 21)

- Alex Izenberg, "South California Blues" single  (Mexican Summer, 26)  D

- Alex Dupree, "I Can See Her In Your Eyes" Talking To the Dog  (Scissor Tail, Aug 14)

- Greg Freeman, "Indu" All Set the Bone  (Transgressive, Oct 2)  D

- Wild Pink, "500 Is the New 250" Still Coming Down  (Fire Talk, Aug 21)

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