ROUTES-cast June 8, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

June 4, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This week's candidates for If You Only Listen (etc) included a striking collection from the increasingly essential Caamp, Sam Blasucci's second solo project in half a year, and the sudden appearance of a full-length Lonesome Shack album. But ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

There are many band names worse than Attention Bird Utopia, but we'd understand if listeners responded to the LA duo's moniker with a subtle eye roll. But the pair of Harrison Whitford (Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst) and Eli Hirsch (Suki Waterhouse) are more than just their awkward moniker. From the folk pop of "Cary" to the beautiful, furry guitars of "I'll Come Find You", they alternately check Elliott Smith, Tallest Man on Earth, Wilco, and Oberst himself. When the piano and acoustic guitars of "Infinity Inside a Shopping Cart" briefly give way to sputtering electric strings, or "Company of Hamsters" finally achieves release from its disciplined roots, the effect can be stirring. 

Been awhile since we took stock of A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our resolutelyl updated new release calendar. Recently, we added news of forthcoming stuff from artists like Joshua Ray Walker, Ben Nichols, Molly Tuttle, Big Thief, and Caitlin Canty. Keep tabs on us by clicking on the link. 

ROUTES-cast June 8, 2025

^ Attention Bird Utopia, "One Step at a Time" Best of Kings  (here here, 25)

- Big Thief, "Incomprehensible" Double Infinity  (4AD, Sep 5)  D

- Julie Doiron, "Everybody Misses You (ft Chris Sheppard)" single  (Numero, 25)  D

- David Newbould, "Into the Deep" Average Fidelity Vol 1  (Blackbird, 25)

- Michael Nau, "Smokeflowers" single  (Karma Chief, 25)  D

- Scott Ballew, "Harmony" single  (Leisure Rodeo, 25)  D

- Little Mazarn, "Mustang Island" Mustang Island  (Dear Life, Jun 20)

- Benjamin Dakota Rogers, "Coyote" This Ol' Way  (Good People, Jul 11)

- Hailey Whitters, "Shotgun Wedding Baby" Corn Queen  (Pigasus, 25)

- Drayton Farley, "Trembling Teeth" single  (Hargrove, 25)  D

- Jesse Daniel, "Child is Born" Son of the San Lorenzo  (Lightning Rod, 25)

- Whiskey Myers, "Tailspin" Whomp Whack Thunder  (Wiggy Thump, Sep 26)

- Jamie Lin Wilson, "Simple Enough" single  (JLW, 25)  D

- Drunken Prayer, "Tramp on the Street" Thy Burdens  (Dial Back Sound, 25)

- Kathleen Edwards, "Save Your Soul" Billionaire  (Dualtone, Aug 22)  D

- T Hardy Morris, "Juvenile Years" Artificial Tears  (Normaltown, Aug 8)  D

- SG Goodman, "Michael Told Me" Planting By the Signs  (Slough Water, Jun 20)

- Ben de la Cour, "Christina (ft Emily Scott Robinson)" New Roses  (Jullian 25) 

- Patty Griffin, "Back at the Start" Crown of Roses  (PGM, Jul 25)  D

- Ruston Kelly, "Wayside" Pale Through the Window  (Rounder, Sep 12)  D

- Nikki Lane, "Woodruff City Limit" single  (Lane, 25)  D

- Molly Tuttle, "That's Gonna Leave a Mark" So Long Little Miss Sunshine  (Nonesuch, Aug 15)  D

- Night Moves, "Ring My Bell"  Double Life  (Domino, Jul 25)

- Sam Blasucci, "Passionately Bad" All Blue  (Amateur Circus, 25)  D

- Adeem the Artist, "Cowards Together" single  (Four Quarters, 25)  D

- Caamp, "Millions" Copper Changes Color  (Mom + Pop, 25)

- Allo Darlin', "Cologne" Bright Nights  (Slumberland, Jul 11)

- Curtis Harding, "True Love Can't Be Blind" Departures & Arrivals: Adventure of Captain Curt  (Anti, Sep 5)  D

- Gwenifer Raymond, "Jack Parsons Blues" Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark  (We Are Busy Bodies, Sep 5)  D

- James Yorkston, "Love/Luck (ft Johanna Soderberg)" Songs for Nina and Johanna  (Domino, Aug 22)  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:

ROUTES-cast June 1, 2025

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

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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:

ROUTES-cast May 25, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

May 25, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

It's been demonstrated time and time again that an act can't stay loose and ramshackle forever. At some point, that amateurish naivete gives way to professionalism and experience. Time will tell if the same fate awaits Francie Medosch and Florry, whose Sounds Like ... (Dear Life) is a big lovely mess. What took (very) rough shape with 2023's Holey Bible begins to congeal on Medosch's new set, now more purposeful and (dare we use the word) mature. Produced by Colin Miller at the same No.Carolina studios that birthed similar alt.country gems by Fust, MJ Lenderman, and Wednesday, Sounds Like ... still sounds like a broken and scratched CD discovered in a roadside ditch, but Francie Medosch demonstrates a self-awareness as a writer that makes these more than drunken reveries. She exercises more control of that slurring, yowling delivery, while Florry's instrumentalists teeter knowingly atop the porch railing. Where Fust might be more literate and Lenderman is prettier, Florry is currently atop the swagger game in this insular community. 

ROUTES-cast May 25, 2025

^ Florry, "Truck Flipped Over '19" Sounds Like ...  (Dear Life, 25)

- Wednesday, "Elderberry Wine" single  (Dead Oceans, 25)  D

- Grace Rogers, "Divine Safety in God"  Mad Dogs  (Sophomore Lounge, 25)

- Wood Brothers, "Pray God Listens" Puff of Smoke  (Honey Jar, Aug 1)

- Patrick Sweany, "My Time Ain't Long" Baby It's Late  (Nine Mile, Aug 1)  D

- Johnny Irion & US Elevator, "Knew Any Better" single  (Irion, 25)  D

- Hallelujah the Hills, "It's Undeniable" DECK  (Discrete Pageantry, Jun 13)

- Silverada, "Wake Me Up" Texas 42  (Prairie Rose, 25)

- Great Lake Swimmers, "One More Dance Around the Sun" single  (Harbour Songs, 25)  D

- Floating Action, "Diamond Store" single  (Airloom, 25)  D

- Ben Chapman, "Humming In My Head" single  (Hippie Shack, 25) D

- Eli West, "Rock and Trees" Shape of a Sway  (Tender and Mild, Jul 11)  D

- Kevin Gordon, "Buddy Montgomery" single  (Little Rain, 25)  D

- James McMurtry, "Sailing Away" Black Dog and the Wandering Boy  (New West, Jun 20)

- Ryan Bingham, "Song for the Stone" single  (Bingham, 25)  D

- Grayson Jenkins, "Hard Heart to Hold" Country Parables  (Jenkins, Jul 25)  D

- Ken Pomeroy, "Wolf in Sheep's Clothes" Cruel Joke  (Rounder, 25)

- Brothers Comatose, "Golden Grass" Golden Grass  (Swamp Jam, Sep 12)  D

- Caitlin Canty, "Hotter Than Hell" single  (Canty, 25)  D

- Amble, "Treehouse Wings" Reverie  (Warner, 25)  D

- Marc Ribot, "Death of a Narcissist" Map of a Blue City  (New West, 25)

- Sally Anne Morgan, "Eye is the First" Second Circle the Horizon  (Thrill Jockey, Jun 20)

- Grant-Lee Phillips, "Closer Tonight" In the Hour of Dust  (Yep Roc, Sep 5)  D

- Caroline Spence, "Effortless" Heart Go Wild  (Spence, Aug 29)  D

- Laura Stevenson, "Honey" Late Great  (Really, Jun 27)  D

- Natalie Bergman, "Dance" My Home Is Not In This World  (Third Man, Jul 18)

- Shilpa Ray, "I'm a Ghost" single  (Northern Spy, 25)  D

- Sister., "Two Birds" single  (Mtn Laurel, 25)  D

- Kieran Hebden & William Tyler, "If I Had a Boat" 41 Longfield Street Lat 80s  (Temporary Residence, Sep 19)  D

- Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn, "Life's Railway to Heaven" Darkening Green  (Jalopy, Aug 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:

ROUTES-cast May 18, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

May 18, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This week's Spotify ROUTES-cast features another generous batch of singles, several of them really excellent (see, f'rinstance, SG Goodman, Alan Sparhawk, Grace Rogers, Ada Lea). But perhaps you're more the album type, hoping to meet our challenge to commit to regular new music discovery. In that case: 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Ken Pomeroy / Cruel Joke (Rounder)

Ken Pomeroy first landed on our busy radar when they were touring in support of John Moreland - this is also how we discovered SG Goodman, incidentally. Some people just know good people. Following a cycle of satisfying singles, Native American singer-songwriter from Oklahoma has released her debut, Cruel Joke on Rounder. Co-produced with Gary Paczosa, Colton Jean and Dakota McDaniel, the project features understated contributions from Chris Scruggs, Muskrat Jones and Jedd Hughes, and a beautiful duet vocal from Moreland himself. Pedal steel and strings ping across wide-open arrangements, with Pomeroy's lyrics often as brittle and overcast as Gillian Welch's. Cruel Joke's grand gestures are measured, dealt out sparingly in an especially expressive vocal here or a fiery electric solo there. The songwriter begins "Stranger": The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to. It a collection that's remarkable in its quiet, but the dozen songs will resonate deeper than a record that makes three times the noise. 

ROUTES-cast May 18, 2025

^ Ken Pomeroy, "Grey Skies" Cruel Joke  (Rounder, 25)

- Alan Sparhawk & Trampled by Turtles, "Not Broken" Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles  (Sub Pop, May 30)

- Ada Lea, "Baby Blue Frigidaire Mini Fridge" When I Paint My Masterpiece  (Saddle Creek, Aug 8)  D

- Folk Bitch Trio, "Cathode Ray" Now Would Be a Good Time  (Jagjaguwar, Jul 25)  D

- Kissing Other ppl, "Where'd All the Time Go" Kissing Other ppl  (Peacedale, Aug 8)  D

- Lemonheads, "Sad Cinderella (ft Erin Rae)" single  (Fire, 25)  D

- Cash Langdon, "Warbird" Dogs  (Well Kept Secret, 25)

- Grace Rogers, "Mad Dogs" Mad Dogs  (Sophomore Lounge, 25)  D

- Good Looks, "I Don't Want To Die" Lived Here For a While (Deluxe)  (Keeled Scales, 25)  D

- Jazmine Mary, "My Brilliance" I Want To Rock and Roll  (Flying Nun, Jun 13)  D

- Vandoliers, "Your Picture" Life Behind Bars  (Break Maiden, Jun 27)

- Mariel Buckley, "Vending Machines" single  (Birthday Cake, 25)  D

- SG Goodman, "Snapping Turtle" Planting By the Signs  (Slough Water, Jun 20)

- Sweet Megg, "New York Love Song" Never Been Home  (Sweet Megg, 25)

- Ben de la Cour, "Devil Went Down to Silverlake (ft Elizabeth Cook)" New Roses  (Jullian, Jun 6)

- Briscoe, "Hold On" single  (ATO, 25)  D

- Murder by Death, "Lose You" Egg & Dart  (MbD, Jun 13)

- Joe Kaplow, "Alligator Woodslide" single  (Sonder House, 25)  D

- Willi Carlisle, "Beeswing" Winged Victory  (Signature Sounds, Jun 27)

- Kelsey Waldon, "Falling Down" Every Ghost  (Oh Boy, Jun 20)

- Drayton Farley, "Carving of a Dove" single  (Hargrove, 25)  D

- Jason Eady, "Things I Keep Telling Myself" single  (Old Guitar, 25)  D

- Milk Carton Kids, "Ribbon" single  (Far Cry, 25)  D

- David Newbould, "Straight Shot To Bakersfield" single  (Blackbird, 25)  D

- Brent Cobb, "Even If It's Broke" Ain't Rocked in a While  (Ol' Buddy, Jul 11)

- Little Mazarn, "Dark Pleasure of Endless Doing" Mustang Island  (Dear Life, Jun 20)

- Yoshika Colwell, "Poem About Walking" On the Wing  (PIAS, Jul 25)

- Billie Marten, "Swing" Dog Eared  (Fiction, Jul 18)

- Scott Hirsch, "Hey Perdido" Lost Padres  (Echo Magic, 25)

- Joseph Allred, "Ditch Lily Suite" Old Time Fantasias  (Scissor Tail, Jun 13)  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:

ROUTES-cast May 11, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

May 11, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Not a gob of new albums added to our digital shelves this week, but that's no excuse for not treating your ears to something new. We've been awaiting a breakout record from Kristina Murray since her 2013 Unravelin'. While '18's Southern Ambrosia was a terrific collection, this week's Little Blue will usher her to the upper echelons of our kind of music. The East Nashville songwriter fits snugly in the country corner of the americana pocket ("After Midnight Special", "Watchin' the World Pass Me By"), songs like "Has Been" and "Get Down To It" with Logan Ledger add enough extraneous edge to keep the collection original. 

Week-in and week-out you'll catch us adding stuff to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our habitually updated new release calendar. Since our last report, we've added announcements from artists like Micky & the Motorcars, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, Dougie Poole, Cory Hanson, Chris Staples, and several more. In our handsome playlist below, debuts are noted with a "D". 

ROUTES-cast May 11, 2025

- Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, "New Threats From the Soul" New Threats From the Soul  (Sophomore Lounge, Jul 5)  D

- Chris Staples, "Two Carat Diamond" Don't Worry  (Hot Tub, Aug 5)  D

- Cash Langdon, "Lilac Whiskey Nose" Dogs  (Well Kept Secret, 25)  D

- Janet Simpson, "Violet" single  (Cornelius Chapel, 25)  D

- Mike Polizze, "Everybody I Know" Around Sound  (Paradise of Bachelors, Jul 11)  D

- Daniel Romano, "Even If It's Obscure" single  (You've Changed, 25)  D

- Jack Van Cleaf, "Shouldn't Have Gone To LA" JVC  (Dualtone, 25)

- Florry, "Pretty Eyes Lorraine" Sounds Like ...  (Dear Life, May 23)

- Cory Hanson, "Bird On a Swing" I Love People  (Drag City, Jul 25)  D

- Drunken Prayer, "Long Ago Far Away" Thy Burdens  (Dial Back Sound, Jun 6)

- Gasoline Lollipops, "Holy Rebel" Kill the Architect  (ALP, Jun 13)

- Marcus King Band, "Honky Tonk Hell" single  (American, 25)  D

- Jr Thomas & Eraserhood Sound, "I Can't Leave You Alone" Jr Thomas in the Eraserhood  (Deep Matter, Sep 26)  D

- Lucy Rose, "Pink" single  (Rose, 25)  D

- Allo Darlin', "My Love Will Bring You Home" Bright Nights  (Slumberland, Jul 11)

- Caamp, "Mistakes" Copper Changes Color  (Mom + Pop, Jun 6)

- Matthew Doc Dunn, "Forbidden Life" single  (Cosmic Range, 25)  D

- Gold Dust, "Germs Burn" In the Shade of the Living Light  (Gold Dust, May 16)

- Jesse Daniel, "Mountain Home" Son of the San Lorenzo  (Lightning Rod, Jun 6)

- West Texas Exiles, "Division (ft Kelly Willis)" 8000 Days  (Floating Mesa, Sep 12)  D

- Ole 60, "Nancy Avenue" single  (Three Twenty Four, 25)  D

^ Kristina Murray, "Get Down To It (ft Logan Ledger)" Little Blue  (Normaltown, 25)

- Dougie Poole, "Heaven Sent An Angel and We Got Stoned" At Tubby's  (Wharf Cat, Jul 18)  D

- Michaela Anne, "Is This What Mama Meant" single  (Georgia June, 25)  D

- Drew Kennedy, "Nerves" Drew Kennedy  (BMG, May 16)  

- Civil Wars, "If I Didn't Know Better" single  (Sensibility, 25)  D

- I'm With Her, "Wild and Clear and Blue" Wild and Clear and Blue  (Rounder, 25)

- AJ Lee & Blue Summit, "Tear My Stillhouse Down (ft Lindsay Lou)" single  (Signature Sounds, 25)  D

- Hayden Pedigo, "I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away" I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away  (Mexican Summer, Jun 6) 

- Racing Mount Pleasant, "Racing Mount Pleasant" single  (R&R, 25)  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:

ROUTES-cast May 4, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

May 4, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster is our patented new release calendar, our assiduously updated account of what's on the horizon for our kind of music. This week, f'rinstance, we added new albums from Billy Allen + the Pollies, Cody Jinks, Vandoliers, Hayes Carll, Whiskey Myers, and so many more. 

Long as we're fiddling around with the stuff, let's identify five (5) records we're most looking forward to in the months to come: Greg Freeman, Burnover; SG Goodman, Planting By the Signs; Scott Hirsch, Lost Padres; Alan Sparhawk & Trampled By Turtles, s/t; Ken Pomeroy, Cruel Joke. 

And, as we do every Sunday, generally without fail, we present our weekly ROUTES-cast, thirty (30) songs that didn't exist last week. There's an abbreviated preview following the playlist, and you'll want to follow us over to our Spotify page where you can listen to the entire playlist over and over (and over) again, as well as ROUTES-casts from the past several months. 

ROUTES-cast May 4, 2025

^ Samantha Crain, "Trap Door" Gumshoe  (Real Kind, 25)

- Trevor Sensor, "The Farm" A Few Tears Of Eros  (High Black Desert, Aug 8)  D

- Kassi Valazza, "Market Street Savior" From Newman Street  (Fluff & Gravy, 25)

- Yoshika Colwell, "Fighting On the Wing" On the Wing  (PIAS, Jul 25)  

- Erin Durant, "Greening" Firetrail  (Ruination, May 16)  D

- Geckos, "Dance Of the Gecko" single  (Org, 25)  D

- Sam Blasucci, "Ice Blue" single  (Amateur Circus, 25)  D

- Lucius, "Final Days"  Lucius  (Fantasy, 25)

- Emily Hines, "My Own Way" These Days  (Keeled Scales, Aug 1)  D

- Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Something Good (ft Rhett Miller)" Choose Myself EP  (JLM, 25)

- Esther Rose, "Scars (ft Dean Johnson)" Want  (New West, 25)

- Bones Of JR Jones, "Car Crash" Radio Waves  (Bones, Jun 20)

- Cody Jinks, "Found" In My Blood  (Late August, Jul 25)  D

- Hailey Whitters, "I Don't Want You (ft Charles Wesley Godwin)" Corn Queen  (Pigasus, Jun 6)

- Sterling Drake, "Calusa" Shape I'm In  (Calusa, 25)

- Kacey Musgraves, "Lost Highway" single  (Lost Highway, 25)  D

- Murry Hammond, "Take This Heart and Lock It Up" Trail Songs Of the Deep  (Fluff & Gravy, Jul 11)  D

- Angela Autumn, "Faeries" I'm Not Around EP  (Autumn, 25)  D

- Ruston Kelly, "Half Past Three" single  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Molly Parden, "Another Friend" single  (Parden, 25)  D

- Benjamin Dakota Rogers, "Virginia's Daughter" This Ol' Way  (Good People, Jul 11)  D

- Roadside Graves, "People Are Talkin'" Interlude (Aquarium Drunkard Lagniappe Sessions) EP  (Our Days Are Numbered, 25)  D

- Colin Miller, "Little Devil" Losin'  (Mtn Laurel, 25)

- Sweet Megg, "Canberra (Baby Blue)" Never Been Home  (Sweet Megg, May 16)

- Marc Ribot, "Daddy's Trip To Brazil" Map Of a Blue City  (New West, May 23)

- Drew Kennedy, "I Can't See Your Face" Drew Kennedy  (BMG, May 16)

- Adrianne Lenker, "No Limit" Live At Revolution Hall  (4AD, 25)

- Sally Anne Morgan, "I Saw a Heron" Second Circle the Horizon  (Thrill Jockey, Jun 20)  D

- Pine Hill Haints, "Loser" Shattered Pieces Of the True Cross  (Single Lock, May 30)

- Attention Bird Utopia, "Cary" Best Of Kings  (here here, Jun 6)

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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:

ROUTES-cast April 27, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

April 27, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're approaching the one-third point for 2025, so maybe it's time for a list. Following are our thirty (30) favorite albums for the year-to-date, listed in order of appearance. We call it:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to THiRTY RECORDS THiS YEAR

Weather Station, Humanhood  (Fat Possum, Jan 17)

Luther Russell, Happiness For Beginners  (Curation, Jan 17)

Pigeon Pit, Crazy Arms  (Ernest Jenning, Jan 17)

Benjamin Booker, Lower  (Fire Next Time, Jan 24)

Jim White & Trey Blake, Precious Bane  (Fluff & Gravy, Jan 31)

Massy Ferguson, You Can't Tell Me I'm Not What I Used To Be  (North and Left, Feb 4)

Horsebath, Another Farewell  (Strolling Bones, Feb 7)

Gary Louris, Dark Country  (SHAM, Feb 14)

James Felice, Little Ones  (Million Stars, Feb 14)

Sunny War, Armageddon In a Summer Dress  (New West, Feb 21)

Patterson Hood, Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams  (ATO, Feb 21)

Jesse Wells, Middle  (Wells, Feb 21)

Will Stewart, Moon Winx  (Earth Libraries, Feb 28)

Fust, Big Ugly  (Dear Life, Mar 7)

Tobacco City, Horses  (Scissor Tail, Mar 7)

Jason Isbell, Foxes In the Snow  (Southeastern, Mar 7)

Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Last Kings Of Babylon  (Proud Souls, Mar 14)

Charley Crockett, Lonesome Drifter  (Island, Mar 14)

David Ramirez, All the Not So Gentle Reminders  (Blue Corn, Mar 21)

Lola Kirke, Trailblazer  (One Riot, Mar 21)

Palmyra, Restless  (Oh Boy, Mar 28)

Free Range, Lost & Found  (Mick, Mar 28)

Rachel Brooke, Sings Sad Songs  (MAL, Mar 28)

Brown Horse, All the Right Weaknesses  (Loose, Apr 4)

Will Johnson, Diamond City  (Keeled Scales, Apr 4)

Bon Iver, SABLE, fABLE  (Jagjaguwar, Apr 4)

Turnpike Troubadours, Price Of Admission  (Bossier City, Apr 4)

Julien Baker & Torres, Send a Prayer My Way  (Matador, Apr 18)

Jerry David DeCicca, Cardiac Country  (JDC, Apr 25)

Colin Miller, Losin'  (Mtn Lauren, Apr 25)

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ROUTES-cast April 27, 2025

^ Greg Freeman, "Point and Shoot" Burnover  (Transgressive, Aug 22)  D

- Colin Miller, "Lost Again" Losin'  (Mtn Laurel, 25)

- Joe Kaplow, "Part Of My Heart" single  (Sonder House, 25)  D

- Jerry David DeCicca, "Frozen Hearts" Cardiac Country  (JDC, Apr 25)

- Foxwarren, "Yvonne" 2  (Anti, May 30)

- Minus 5, "Let the Rope Hold Cassie Lee" Oar On Penelope  (Yep Roc, May 30)

- Hallelujah the Hills, "Crush All Night (ft Sad13)"  DECK  (Discrete Pageantry, Jun 13)

- Adrianne Lenker, "Two Reverse (live)" Live At Revolution Hall  (4AD, 25)

- Natalie Bergman, "Gunslinger" My Home Is Not In This World  (Third Man, Jul 18)  D

- Durand Jones & the Indications, "Flower Moon" Flowers  (Dead Oceans, Jun 27)

- Curtis Harding, "There She Goes" single  (Anti, 25)  D

- Billy Allen + the Pollies, "If You Want Me To Stay" Black Noise  (Single Lock, Jun 20)  D

- Sweet Megg, "Bridge and Tunnel (Dance With Me)" Never Been Home  (Sweet Megg, May 16)  D

- Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Groomed (ft Scott Avett)" Choose Myself EP  (JLM, 25)  D

- Hayes Carll, "Progress Of Man (Bitcoin & Cattle)" We're Only Human  (Hwy 87, Aug 8)  D

- Mike Frazier, "Oregon Stars" April Days  (Geneva, 25)

- Lukas Nelson, "Pretty Much" American Romance  (Ace, Jun 20)

- Lowtimers, "Charlotte" Cracks  (Alabama Sound Co, May 16)  

- Turnpike Troubadours, "Searching For a Light" Price Of Admission  (Bossier City, 25)

- Whiskey Myers, "Time Bomb" Whomp Whack Thunder (Wiggy Thump, Sep 26)  D

- SG Goodman, "Satellite" Planting By the Signs  (Slough Water, Jun 20)

- Steve Earle, "Long May You Run" Heart Of Gold: Songs Of Neil Young Vol 1  (Cinema, 25)

- Kelsey Waldon, "Tiger Lillies" Every Ghost  (Oh Boy, Jun 20)

- Drayton Farley, "Everything Goes South" single  (Hargrove, 25)  D

- Jobi Riccio, "Wildfire Season" single  (Yep Roc, 25)  D

- Shinyribs, "Salt On My Tail" Leaving Time  (Nine Mile, 25)

- Nicole Lawrence, "When I Get Home" Time In Love  (Durango, May 13(

- Wood Brothers, "Witness" Puff Of Smoke  (Honey Jar, Aug 1)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" single  (Verve, 25)  D

- Amanda Fields, "Redbird (ft Megan McCormick, Odessa)" single  (Are and Be, 25)  D

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