![]() ![]() Once again accompanied by the current Son Volt lineup - keyboardist/steel guitarist Mark Spencer, bassist Andrew Duplantis, guitarist Chris Frame and drummer Mark Patterson - Farrar takes a slight turn from 2019’s politically pointed Union to a series of songs that asks questions rather than demanding answers - think of Livin’ in the U.S.A. as Farrar’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World or Patti Smith’s People Have the Power, an anthem to unite the populace. and The Globe - the former about the promises of this nation gone wrong, the latter referencing the street protests accompanying the Black Lives Matter movement - exist side by side with odes to long-term relationships (specifically his 25-year marriage) in Diamonds and Cigarettes and Lucky Ones. Social protest songs like Living in the U.S.A. The title, taken from the names of two vintage amplifiers from the late ’40s and early ’50s, also describes the disc’s unique blend of folk, country, blues, soul and rock - an electric troubadour with melodies that hit and stick. Instead of a triumphant tour marking the illustrious landmark, Farrar was forced indoors by the pandemic, and his Reverie during that time helped define Electro Melodier, Son Volt’s 10th studio album. The group had just finished an Outlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown. "What survives the long, cold winter," he sings at one point, "will be stronger and can't be undone.T HE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt’s Trace, the groundbreaking debut from the band he started in 1994 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whose No Depression album helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. Notes Of Blue's "Back Against The Wall" ties all of those elements and influences into one bracing anthem of endurance, as Farrar offers notes of encouragement that could double as mantras for his own rich and underrated career. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen remain useful touchstones for describing Son Volt's approach, from the alternating potency and delicacy of the guitars to the singers' shared willingness to turn a jaundiced eye to cruel power structures. At just 31 minutes, Notes Of Blue provides a lean and sturdy showcase for Farrar's eternally weary but undiminished voice - which here gets employed in the service of shimmery ballads ("Promise The World," "Cairo And Southern") and rowdy, chugging rockers ("Static," "Lost Souls") alike. But their fates and reputations shifted considerably from there: Wilco grew more iconic and creatively expansive, ultimately overshadowing even the genre-defining band that spawned it, while Son Volt settled into cult status and an unsteady career path marked by lineup and label changes, as well as a hiatus to accommodate a brief solo career.īut Son Volt has always deserved more attention than it's gotten, and the occasion of its eighth album is as good a time as any to revisit a sound that's worn well with time. In 1995, those bands - Son Volt, led by Jay Farrar, and Wilco, led by Jeff Tweedy - released similarly heralded (and terrific) debuts. After all, Uncle Tupelo had always balanced two distinct singing and songwriting voices, and both were held in similarly high esteem at the time. When Uncle Tupelo splintered into two bands back in 1994, both offshoots seemed primed for more or less equal success. Courtesy of the artist Son Volt, Notes Of Blue ![]()
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