Son Volt

[Oil Can Boyd]

i guess blood oranges are mark spencer's old band?

worth looking into them?

Mark Spencer played guitar in Blood Oranges, but the band was led by a guy named Jimmy Ryan who mostly played mandolin. I don't know what their albums are like but I saw them a bunch around Boston in the early 1990s and they were great live.

[Calexico]

American Central Dust

 

Some thoughts and ruminations a week or so into living with the

 

new Son Volt album.

 

 

I feel, more than the previous two albums, that this recording

 

is a proper band record. Everyone is contributing strongly to

 

the overall feel of the album and it seems like they feel part

 

of a gang rather than punching the clock. Obviously, this comes

 

across in the music and the songs are served all the better for

 

it.

 

 

 

I won't dissect every song but there are immediate highlights

 

that spring to mind. This album had hidden depths that will

 

reveal themselves over time as well and this is always a sign

 

of a very good record.

 

First off, the addition of the keys and violin. Every

 

appearance they make across the album embellishes the tunes and

 

adds a vibrancy to plain old guitar and drums. A most welcome

 

addition and kudos to the players. Something like Down To The

 

Wire becomes instantly better for their addition whereas it may

 

have just stayed a simple "chant and strum".

 

No Turning Back for me is such a great song that it would fit

 

easily on any of the first three Son Volt albums. High praise

 

indeed.

 

Pushed Too Far, another special song. "When you hold your cards

 

close to your chest, shows you've been pushed too far". The

 

song has that minor chord world weariness akin to Left A Slide.

 

The violin as a droning backdrop on Cocaine And Ashes is very

 

reminiscent of the great Warren Ellis' work with Nick Cave.

 

Beautiful counterpoint with the piano and then towards the end

 

the drone eases and moves seamlessly into a gorgeous refrain.

 

Sultana. People have been critical of this song for reasons

 

beyond me. I love the story and once again, to labour a point,

 

the accompianment reminds me of the soundtrack to the Brad Pit

 

movie about Jesse James.

 

Dust Of Daylight is a gem hidden down the playlist. Wonderful

 

country ballad. Acoustic, steel and fiddle all swirling around

 

each other bringing a yearning pathos to a future Son Volt

 

classic.

 

As we have all come to expect from Jay Farrar, fantastic

 

lyrical couplets dropped into songs that most songwriters would

 

kill for. A far better lyric writer than his erstwhile band

 

mate J. Tweedy. In fact, a far better lyric writer than

 

probably 80% of musicians working today. The songs seem

 

personal to the listener but without revealing anything of it's

 

writer. Very clever and extremely hard to achieve. Playing a

 

listener's heart string without opening his own to us.

 

"Smoke fills the dreams of a life gone lonely"

 

"More ways to buy trouble than a bailbondsman finds friends in

 

jail"

 

"No contest here, but you'll be judged just the same"

 

"Who makes the decision to feed the tanks and not the mouths"

 

All in all, this is a highlight for me of this year and will be

 

a very welcome addition to Jay Farrar's canon. 12 perfectly

 

judged songs in a time when albums go on longer than Big

 

Brother.

 

This one will get under your skin but won't outstay it's

 

welcome either. More than just a return of the mojo.

[countryfeedback]

Look at Cal, posting his review on every message board on the planet...No, it really is a great review....Who did you steal it from?

 

All kidding aside, I think the new Son Volt record blows the new Wilco record out of the water... I could barely make it thru the entire Wilco album, in fact I stopped after about six songs... I never thought I would experience that with a Tweedy album, but I finally have.

[jakobnicholas]

I think the new Son Volt record blows the new Wilco record out of the water.

 

 

 

I find this EXTREMELY difficult to believe, but when the actual Son Volt disc is in stores and I can buy it and listen to it, I'll be anxious to see if you're right.

 

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I think Trace is brilliant. The next 2 are very good. But Son Volt's remaining albums as a whole have been on a decline since....with some very good song nuggets thrown in along the way. I prefer most of Jay's solo stuff to Okemah....mostly a snoozer for me.

[DrNo]

Trace *****

Straightaways ****

American Central Dust ****

Wide Swing Tremolo ***

The Search ***

Okemah **

 

There are probably half a dozen albums I would give 5 stars, and Trace is one of them.

 

You guys may disagree... In fact I think it's great that so many of you guys love his last two albums!

 

I'd pretty much agree with this. Not surprising since I spent my high school years alternating between Trace and Crow Pot Pie.

[countryfeedback]

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I think Trace is brilliant. The next 2 are very good. But Son Volt's remaining albums as a whole have been on a decline since....with some very good song nuggets thrown in along the way. I prefer most of Jay's solo stuff to Okemah....mostly a snoozer for me.

 

 

I completely agree....I think you are in for a very pleasant surprise...I have loved all of Wilco's work to date but much like Son Volt, I beleive each proceeding album is less than the previous effort.

 

American Central Dust goes against that pattern...Right now I would rank it right behind Straightaways...If not for a couple stinkers, it could be considered in the same breath as Trace and Straightaways.

 

I will wait until the new Wilco album hits the stores before I give it another listen but I had the same reaction as when I heard Jay's Terrior Blues...And that is not a good thing, imho.

[countryfeedback]

I'd pretty much agree with this. Not surprising since I spent my high school years alternating between Trace and Crow Pot Pie.

 

Nice!

 

You guys seem to have a similar taste as myself...Am I missing something here, in not digging the new Wilco?...I feel like the odd man out.

[jakobnicholas]

Nice!

 

You guys seem to have a similar taste as myself...Am I missing something here, in not digging the new Wilco?...I feel like the odd man out.

 

 

I hope I agree with you about the new Son Volt. I've always liked Farrar's voice and understated nature. And I've always liked the feel of Son Volt's music.

 

I think I like the new Wilco more than you. You Never Know and Sonny Feeling are the clunkers in my opinion....forced and/or lazy pop songs. But the rest is VERY solid, I think....better than Sky Blue Sky.

 

Guess I'll weigh in sometime in July.

[Ghost of Electricity]

I've poked around trying to find a place to listen to this thing, or at least parts of it, but to no avail. Any help?

[Vacant Horizon]

I've poked around trying to find a place to listen to this thing, or at least parts of it, but to no avail. Any help?

 

 

if you torrent, then it'll be easy to find.

 

are the bonus tracks from okema japan edition any good?

[imsjry]

Is anyone else bothered by how similar some of these songs sound to other Son Volt songs. And yes, I know there are only so many chords but some of these are too close. Like "Down to the Wire" sounds exactly like "Circadian Rhythm" from the last disc.

[CortezTheKiller]

Similar-sounding songs for Son Volt? Yes, but I haven't noticed it with the two songs you mention. I must have missed the reverse-looped guitar on "Down to the Wire." Thank God it's difficult to detect one Wilco song from another.

[countryfeedback]

Is anyone else bothered by how similar some of these songs sound to other Son Volt songs. And yes, I know there are only so many chords but some of these are too close. Like "Down to the Wire" sounds exactly like "Circadian Rhythm" from the last disc.

 

It's also my least favorite song on the album...Wheels Dont Move and Exiles also sound like leftovers from The Search but everything else is fantastic. But yeah, your right, it does sound very similar to Circadian Rhythm.

[CortezTheKiller]

Pitchfork shreds American Central Dust.

[MattZ]

Pitchfork shreds American Central Dust.

 

ouch.

 

Listening now for the first time...

[nodep5]

As I former card carrying member of the Son Volt fan club circa 95-2000 I am no longer surprised by uninspired or down right bad Son Volt albums. I stopped purchasing Son Volt records after Okemah. That record made me sad for the Son Volt name and wished the Boquist brothers filed a lawsuit. I picked up The Search at the library and was embarrassed by the entire thing (artwork and music) that I couldn't even bring myself to upload it. All I have heard from the new album is "Down To The Wire" and I was left feeling aboslutely nothing from that. I've read some comment on here about a return to form, and I just have to say that I think I'm done with Jay. It is sad because UT and the real Son Volt meant a ton to me and still do. I just scratch my head how his lyrics could connect so deeply on Anodyne and Trace and even Straightaways and WST, and then completely lose it all starting with the solo albums. It is scary wierd how bad I think it has got and I have a high tolerance for bands that I love (I cut them huge slack). My meaningless two cents. Maybe the library will get a copy and I'll give it a chance before calling it quits.

[people are leaving]

Dear Stephen @ Pitchfork,

You need to listen to the record 5 or 6 more times. Then enroll in a course on non-fiction writing. Then punch a clock for a few years to gain life experience. Then scam free records from your day job. Then consider writing for a jerkwater music website. Then think better of it and slink off into the night.

[hardwood floor]

I hear ya, and I could substitute the word "Wilco" for "Son Volt" throughout your post and it would reflect my feelings.

 

For me, the Search is superb.

 

The new one is growing on me.

 

 

As I former card carrying member of the Son Volt fan club circa 95-2000 I am no longer surprised by uninspired or down right bad Son Volt albums. I stopped purchasing Son Volt records after Okemah. That record made me sad for the Son Volt name and wished the Boquist brothers filed a lawsuit. I picked up The Search at the library and was embarrassed by the entire thing (artwork and music) that I couldn't even bring myself to upload it. All I have heard from the new album is "Down To The Wire" and I was left feeling aboslutely nothing from that. I've read some comment on here about a return to form, and I just have to say that I think I'm done with Jay. It is sad because UT and the real Son Volt meant a ton to me and still do. I just scratch my head how his lyrics could connect so deeply on Anodyne and Trace and even Straightaways and WST, and then completely lose it all starting with the solo albums. It is scary wierd how bad I think it has got and I have a high tolerance for bands that I love (I cut them huge slack). My meaningless two cents. Maybe the library will get a copy and I'll give it a chance before calling it quits.

[Moss]

I probably did not give it enough of a chance but the new one was underwhelming to me. I need to give it more time but it's no Trace or Okemah, yes I put Okemah up with Trace, I love that album.

[CortezTheKiller]

Dear Stephen @ Pitchfork,

You need to listen to the record 5 or 6 more times. Then enroll in a course on non-fiction writing. Then punch a clock for a few years to gain life experience. Then scam free records from your day job. Then consider writing for a jerkwater music website. Then think better of it and slink off into the night.

The clown tries to pigeonhole ACD as a "protest album." You could make an argument that "Down to the Wire," "When the Wheels Don't Move," and "Exiles" loosely fit this description, but what about the nine other tracks on the record? I can't read the "Member Since" part on my Son Volt card anymore, but, to these ears, this album ranks right up there with Trace and Straightaways.

[nodep5]

I hear ya, and I could substitute the word "Wilco" for "Son Volt" throughout your post and it would reflect my feelings.

 

For me, the Search is superb.

 

The new one is growing on me.

 

Yeah, I hear you, and even though I will always feel Wilco was at their best in the mid to late 90's, I still have loved every album they have put out, and have never been embarrassed for them. Wilco is much different now in many ways, but Jeff Tweedy is the constant and connects with me and in my mind it still holds together as Wilco as much as it did when AM came out. I can't say the same for Son Volt everything post WST just seems lost and miles away from the first three records. Hey, I'm not stuck in 1996, I like bands evolving, some do it well (Wilco) some just get lost and become irrelevant.

[CortezTheKiller]

To each their own, but I think all the post-WST Son Volt records are better than WST.

[Moss]

The clown tries to pigeonhole ACD as a "protest album." You could make an argument that "Down to the Wire," "When the Wheels Don't Move," and "Exiles" loosely fit this description, but what about the nine other tracks on the record? I can't read the "Member Since" part on my Son Volt card anymore, but, to these ears, this album ranks right up there with Trace and Straightaways.

 

I would agree it's up there with Straightaways for me. I like it quite a bit. I always expect way too much from Son Volt, they can't possibly live up to my expectations. Then I listen to the songs and they starting digging in. This album seems to be like that. Some really good stuff on here.

[CortezTheKiller]

I would agree it's up there with Straightaways for me. I like it quite a bit. I always expect way too much from Son Volt, they can't possibly live up to my expectations. Then I listen to the songs and they starting digging in. This album seems to be like that. Some really good stuff on here.

It's impossible to come into a new album by one of your favorite artists and not have some level of expectation - fair or unfair. Before hearing ACD, I had read some articles with comparisons to Trace and Straightaways. My expectations rose. I thought there's no fuckin' way this album can stand up to those classics. After more than a month of regular listening, I can say it absolutely does. I love pretty much everything about American Central Dust. I think Jay's voice sounds terrific. The pedal steel on this record is phenominal. The lyrics are poetic and thought-provoking. The slide guitar on "Jukebox of Steel" is sublime. My only complaint with ACD is it lacks a thumping rocker or two in the vein of "Drown," "Route," or "Chickamauga." Otherwise, I think it's pretty close to being a perfect record.

[nodep5]

I listened to "Down To The Wire" again and "Cocaine and Ashes" for the first time. I'll stop after I say this, but it is just the lyrics. I know they were always a little odd, but they seemed to fit and make sense in some way or feel like they make sense. Trace is full of odd lyrics, but they fit and it serves the mood. Even "Blind Hope" off of WST (which is completely stream of consicousness) makes sense to me or doesn't feel akward. All of the new stuff just feels wierd to me. When I listen to "Down To The Wire" it is like he doesn't care at all about phrasing or pacing or anything it is just word jumble over the top of decent tunes. Ok, enough out of me.