Son Volt - American Central Dust

The new album is out now in the States. I got my copy this week and you can expect to hear about three tracks on the show this Monday.

After reforming the band with a new line up about four years ago, Jay Farrar returns with the third album for Son Volt 2.0. He also returns to what he does best, the new album has echoes of his finest work on albums like Trace.As with the last two albums the line up is Dave Bryson on drums; Andrew Duplantis on bass and backing vocals; Chris Masterson on lead guitar; and Mark Spencer on keyboards and steel guitar.

The first two albums for Son Volt 2.0 (Okemah and the Melody of Riot and The Search) were both well received by critics and loyal fans but they failed to connect with a larger audience. As a result the band left Sony/Legacy and this new album is released by Rounder - a label well known for its country based releases. About Rounder Farrar has been quoted as saying "Rounder has shown a long term commitment to music forms, like folk and blues, that I have a lot of respect for," said Farrar. "Going with Rounder has been a kind of a full circle continuum -- the first Rounder person I met with was instrumental in booking Uncle Tupelo gigs years ago."

I'll be playing three tracks from the album, "Down to the Wire, "Roll on" and "Dust of Daylight". I've got to say that I was impressed on first listen and it has grown on me since. I love the return to the more simpler sounds (gone as the weird sounds of Farrar's solo albums) and a more alt-country sound as well which of course appeals enormously. I'd love to hear what you think.

No release date here in Australia that I know of but it should be in your favourite Indie Record Store or buy it from Amazon.

NEW SON VOLT ALBUM DUE 7/7/09

Very exciting news about the new album from Jay Farrar's Son Volt. The album is called "American Central Dust" and is due 7/7/09 on Rounder Records.

I haven't heard any of it yet, here is the blub from Rounder

"After spearheading the alternative country movement with his band Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar pursued his vision with Son Volt, who recorded three landmark albums in the '90s before the groundbreaking artist put the band on extended hiatus and cut three solo records. Now back with his third Son Volt album of the decade, Jay Farrar has delivered what may be his finest work yet, American Central Dust. The new album exhilarating carries on the tradition of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Little Feat circa Sailin' Shoes, the Rolling Stones of Exile on Main Street and early R.E.M., with standouts like the exceptional "Down to the Wire," "Dynamite" and "No Turning Back." An epic lament for the heartland, American Central Dust is populated with readily recognizable characters, the most hopeful of them searching for love against a backdrop of rusted road signs and abandoned factories. Rarely does a musical work so powerfully capture the zeitgeist of its historical moment while also honoring the traditions of rock & roll with such rawboned grace."

Track Listing:

1 Dynamite
2 Down to the Wire
3 Roll On
4 Cocaine and Ashes
5 Dust of Daylight
6 When the Wheels Don't Move
7 No Turning Back
8 Pushed Too Far
9 Exiles
10 Sultana
11 Strength and Doubt
12 Jukebox of Steel

You can listen to Track 2 "Down to the Wire" via Son Volt's Myspace page. You can read more about the album at the Son Volt Website