Son Volt

2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt, theband he started in 1995 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whoseNo Depressionalbum helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. The group had justfinished anOutlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown.Instead of a triumphant tour marking the illustrious landmark, Farrar was forced indoors bythe pandemic, and his “Reverie” during that time helped defineElectro Melodier,Son Volt’s10th studio album–and third for influential Nashville indie Thirty Tigers. The title, taken fromthe names of two vintage amplifiers from the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, also describes the disc’sunique blend of folk, country, blues, soul and rock–an electric troubadour with melodies thathit and stick. Social protest songs like “Living in the U.S.A.” and “The Globe,” the former aboutthe promises of this nation gone wrong, the latter referencing the street protestsaccompanying the Black Lives Matter movement, exist side by side with odes to long-termrelationships (specifically his 25-year marriage) in “Diamonds and Cigarettes” and “LuckyOnes.”Once again accompanied by the current Son Volt line up–keyboardist/steel guitarist MarkSpencer, bassist Andrew Duplantis, guitarist Chris Frame and drummer Mark Patterson–Farrar takes a slight turn from 2019’s politically pointedUnionto a series of songs that asksquestions rather than demanding answers–think of “Living in the U.S.A.” as Farrar’s versionof Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” or PattiSmith’s “People Have the Power,” an anthem to unite the populace.“I had more time to devote to and concentrate on the writing,” says Farrar abouthis enforcedquarantine. “We were fortunate in that we had just releasedUnionand toured the country, sowe were off cycle. It was still a rough year, but as a songwriter, I was able to make the mostof it.”One listen toElectro Melodier, which opens with “Reverie,” describing Farrar’s contemplativestate gazing out his window, enlivened with Mark Spencer’s “Wichita Lineman” guitar riffs andthe lush Big Star melodies, and you wonder why no other rock ‘n’ roll bands orsinger/songwriters are making albumslike this about what we’re all going through.“I wanted to concentrate on the melodies which got me into music in the first place,” saysFarrar. “I wanted politics to take a back seat this time, but it always seems to find a way backin there.”Listen tothe Moog line from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” channeled in “The Globe,”or the Led Zeppelin homage in “Someday Is Now,” the nod to gut-bucket Mississippi deltablues in the Lightnin’ Hopkins low-tuned guitar stylings of “War on Misery” or Spencer’s

haunting slide on the funereal dirge of “The Levee On Down,” which takes Andrew Jacksonto task for everything from the “Trail of Tears” massacre of the Cherokees to his face on the$20 bill instead of Harriet Tubman. The environmentally conscious “ArkeyBlue” nods to ahonky-tonk in Bandera, TX, Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, where Hank Williams, Sr. allegedlycarved his name into one of the wood tables, and even quotes Pope Francis on “turbulentrains never before seen.”“I’m just asking the same question,how can so much go wrong in a country that is held up asan example to the world of something righteous,” explains Farrar about songs like “Living inthe U.S.A.,” in which you can hear doomsaying prophecies like Barry McGuire’s “Eve ofDestruction” set tothe guitar riffs of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane.”Still based in St. Louis (“It kinda makes sense as a central location for touring because all theinterstates connect through here”), Farrar was born in Belleville, IL, where heformed UncleTupelo with his highschool classmate Jeff Tweedy. “We had similar musical interests andtook it from there,” says Jay modestly about the groundbreaking group.Farrar is grateful to his wife of 25 years, a sentiment which he expresses lovingly on“Diamonds and Cigarettes”–featuring vocals by country singer Laura Cantrell, along withsongs like the soulful “Lucky Ones” and “Sweet Refrain,” a song that captures the spirit ofBentonia, Mississippi, home of Skip James along with name checks for local legends Jimmy“Duck” Holmesand the Bluefront Cafe. “These are the Times” was recorded entirely remotelyby Zoom, signaling one of the new methods of making music ushered in by Covid.With tour dates scheduled before the end of 2021, Son Volt is ready to return to what theyknow bestafter a welcome period of introspection.“It’s a good time to take stock of what’s lost and what’s gained,” said Farrar. “At this point,we’re not even sure what we’re going to get back.”The songs ofElectro Melodierhelp remind us to be thankful of whatwe still have–new musicfrom Jay Farrar and Son Volt.“Daylight brings the clues to the world to life/Make or break gotta do what it takes to survive.”“Sweet Refrain”