![]() ![]() “I wanted to concentrate on the melodies which got me into music in the first place,” says Farrar. One listen to Electro Melodier, which opens with “Reverie,” describing Farrar’s contemplative state gazing out his window, enlivened with Mark Spencer’s “Wichita Lineman” guitar riffs and the lush Big Star melodies, and you wonder why no other rock ‘n’ roll bands or singer/songwriters are making albums like this about what we’re all going through. It was still a rough year, but as a songwriter, I was able to make the most of it.” “We were fortunate in that we had just released Union and toured the country, so we were off cycle. “I had more time to devote to and concentrate on the writing,” says Farrar about his enforced quarantine. Once again accompanied by the current Son Volt line up – 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 “Living 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. Social protest songs like “Living in the U.S.A.” 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.” 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 – and third for influential Nashville indie Thirty Tigers. The group had just finished an Outlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown. “Rebetika” comes the closest with layers of guitar tones ranging from sparkling to rustic “War on Misery” goes for a similar vibe that is ruined by awful rustling that pervades the entire track, like someone crinkling aluminum right into the mic.2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt, the band he started in 1995 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whose No Depression album helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. It’s not like the band is doing anything out of their comfort zone or that the production is bad there’s just no soul or spark to any of it. It’s a nearly hour-long album that features no hooks or interesting instrumental passages that last a whole song. Blake Michelle from mxdwn wrote an album review regarding it: “Sadly, while the album’s tone and lyrics may not be exhausting, the length of Electro Melodier is. ![]() The tour is set in support of its most recent album Electro Melodier, which came out earlier this year. ![]()
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