Americana Boogie new releases for the week of August 27th…Robbie Fulks, Sam Baker, Austin Lucas, Missy Raines, Nicki Bluhm, Bob Dylan and more…

SAM BAKER
Say Grace (self released)

Sam Baker might be the most captivating songwriter in America. You’ll probably never catch yourself singing one of his songs in the shower, because his melodies generally tend to be as bare-bones serviceable as the raspy scratch of his singing; but by God, you listen to what he has to say, hanging on for every line like a baby bird at feeding time. Beginning with the title track’s poignant portrait of a woman weighing the ghosts of her past against the lonely onset of advancing age. In “Migrants,” he tells of 14 men who cross the border only to succumb to the elements of the brutal Sonora desert. “Ay mijitos/they looked like dried leaves/scattered in the sun,” Baker sings with a sadness underscored by Joel Guzman’s keening accordion. But there’s true grace here, too, from the sweetly touching but unmawkish “Isn’t Love Great” to the surprise sense of humor leavening the blue-collar angst of “Ditch.” (from Lone Star Music)

ROBBIE FULKS
Gone Away Backward (Bloodshot)

“There may be flashier songwriters than Robbie Fulks, but there are none better than him. His new album, Gone Away Backward, is a sneaky triumph. Hobos and miscreants rub shoulders with nostalgic old-timers and lonely lovers. The musicianship on the album kicks ass, but the real star is the brilliant pile of songs Robbie has amassed for his return to the great Bloodshot Records.” (Rhett Miller, Old 97’s) “If country music has an Elvis Costello, it’s Robbie Fulks, who marries Ivy League cleverness to an appreciation of hillbilly music that actual hillbillies could only envy.” (Entertainment Weekly)

AUSTIN LUCAS
Stay Reckless (New West)

Bluegrass, folk, and classic country meet bar-band rock & roll on Stay Reckless, produced by Mark Nevers, adding Lucas’ name to a resume that already includes Caitlin Rose and Jason Isbell. His songs, influenced by everything from his childhood in Indiana to his five-year stay in Prague, put a modern spin on an old sound. I wrote the majority of this record leading up to and in the aftermath of separating and divorcing my ex-wife,” Lucas tells American Songwriter. “In many ways it could be considered a typical breakup album, however, I really wanted there to be a glimmer of hope that existed along with the heartache. Hope for a future without the stress and isolation that I’d been feeling for so long and hope for the possibilities that life might now place in my path.”

Also new this week..

BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS – What a Dream It’s Been (Cow Island)
NICKI BLUHM & THE GRAMBLERS – Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers (Little Sur)
THE COAL MEN – Escalator (Vaskaleedez)
BOB DYLAN – Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Columbia)
MISSY RAINES & THE NEW HIP – New Frontier (Compass)
THE RIDES – Can’t Get Enough (429) (with Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Sheperd & Barry Goldberg)
CARLY RITTER – Carly Ritter (Vanguard)
DAN ZANES & ELIZABETH MITCHELL – Turn Turn Turn (Virtual)

Coming out soon… RICHARD BUCKNER, RECKLESS KELLY, NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS, NEKO CASE, RICK SHEA, PETER COOPER, STEEP CANYON RANGERS, SHERYL CROW, RY COODER & CORRIDOS FAMOSOS, TONY JOE WHITE, BAND OF HEATHENS, AUDREY AULD, DEL McCOURY BAND … more new releases.  Here’s a link to this week’s Americana Music Association Americana Airplay Chart

— Americana Boogie

Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie