Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 6th, 2024. Click the artist or album links to find out more. The artist’s names link to their websites and the CD title links go to either Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp or the artist’s site for ordering or downloading. A + sign means although not a featured release, it’s a notable album that’s still worth checking out. Also, this page will be updated as I find out about other new releases so check back again.
The Deslondes
Roll It Out (New West Records)
Sometimes, even after a period of fruitful reinvention, it helps to go back to the root of the thing. The Deslondes, one of the most consistent bands putting out music today, are doing just that with their latest release, Roll It Out. After the extensions and experiments of 2022’s Ways & Means, the group is taking a back-to-basics approach with this new set, a callback to the days when they’d gather to play and jam together just for fun. Anchored mainly by the wildly different vocals of Sam Doores and Riley Downing — arguably at two opposite ends of a sonic spectrum — The Deslondes wrap their arms around any and all genres, just like they always have. Whether they’re singing the blues or a folk or country tune, there’s an ease to the way The Deslondes make songs together. This is as evident on the record as it is at one of their live shows. Roll It Out captures that sweet spot when each finds a way to bring their singular ingredient to the mix, shaken and served straight-up. (edited from No Depression review)
Amy Helm
Silver City (Sun Records)
Amy Helm is the immensely talented daughter of Levon Helm, drummer and co-lead singer for The Band. With that kind of background and a life infused with music, including years of playing and touring with Levon Helm, she has developed some serious chops. Silver City is Helm’s fourth album. Intensely personal, each of the songs represent individual stories and glimpses into Helm’s life and experiences including her roles as artist, mother, wife, and woman, while also drawing inspiration from the strength and struggles of women generally. Helm’s voice draws the listener into her world and into the experiences and feelings she shares, taking one down her paths. Through her songs and her voice, as she opens her soul to examination, Helm achieves a kind of emotional release as if to say, life is hard and tests us all, but we will overcome in the end. While the ten songs on Silver City portray raw personal emotion and angst, they never become maudlin or exercises in self-pity. Instead, they are deeply cathartic, also allowing the listener to find a kind of emotional release. If there is any complaint to offer about Silver City, it is that each song simply seems to end too soon, leaving the listener wanting more. (edited from Americana Highways review)
Also new this week…
Eva Cassidy – Walkin’ After Midnight (Blix Street Records)
Jeffrey Foucault – The Universal Fire (Fluff and Gravy Records)
The Heavy Heavy – One of a Kind (ATO Records)
Steve Louw – Between Time (independent)
David Luning – Lessons (independent) +
Andy Statman – Bluegrass Tracks (Shefa Records)
Shovels & Rope – Something Is Working Up Above My Head (Dualtone Music Group)
Luke Winslow-King – Flash-A-Magic (Bloodshot Records)
Coming out soon … Kevin Gordon, Jerry Douglas, JP Harris, Lisa Morales, Shawna Thompson, Randall Bramblett, Eliza Thorn, Twisted Pine, Billy Strings, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Donavon Frankenreiter, Yasmin Williams, Amythyst Kiah, Nick Lowe, Dwight Yoakam, and more!
