Roots Round-Up (Melissa Carper, Blind Pilot, Brandon Godman and more)

With a big shift in the political landscape, there’s hope in the air in the United States once again! So why not pick out a host of new albums that use roots music to bring hope and love back again?

The rapid rise of Texas-by-way-of-Arkansas roots country singer (and bassist) Melissa Carper seemed to take everyone by surprise, but Carper’s been a leading light of Texas country all the way back to her much-loved band The Carper Family. Still, Carper’s at the height of her powers on her new album, Borned in Ya (Mae Music ★★★★★). The opening title-track is a fire-breathing, soul-stirring call-to-arms for true folk music fans, saying you need the voices of Leadbelly and Hazel Dickens ‘borned’ in you (as Ralph Stanley is supposed to have said). Carper’s musical taste ranges far and wide on this album, everything from 50s lounge (‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’) to Randy Newman-esque piano ballads (‘Your Furniture’s Too Nice’) and barrelhouse blues (‘Evil Eva’). This genre-hopping sounds entirely natural in Carper’s easy-going Ozarks/Texan twang and even places her as a kind of 21st-century Bob Wills, remixing a long history of American roots music. Sierra Ferrell may be carrying this sound the furthest these days, but she learned much of it from Carper directly and this record proves it.

Long heralded as one of the best indie roots bands from Portland, Oregon’s robust scene, Blind Pilot are back with their first new album in eight years, In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain (ATO ★★★★). Produced by Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman, it’s a delight too, starting with rollicking opener ‘Jacaranda’, full of tight drumming from co-founder Ryan Dobrowski. Lead singer Israel Nebeker came to the music on the new album after reconnecting with his Sámi heritage in Scandinavia (the holy mountain in the album’s title is in sight of a drum ceremony he attended there). Though there was a lot of time between this and the last album, the band made the new record quickly, working to bring a spontaneity to the music that paid off. Maybe a bit cliché, but I hear echoes of Paul Simon’s Graceland in this album, especially on ‘Pocket Knife’, which nails touches of Simon’s vocals and harmonies. Blind Pilot’s two secret weapons, multi-instrumentalists Luke Ydstie and Kati Claborn of Oregon folk trio The Hackles are a key part of the album as well, bringing some of their aesthetic from Portland’s old-time and roots scene in the early aughts.

Bluegrass fiddler Brandon Godman opens up his Bandcamp page with this spectacular quote from Laurie Lewis, herself a legend on the scene: ‘Half god, half man, all fiddler.’ On his new solo album, I Heard the Morgan Bell (Brandon Godman ★★★★★), Godman certainly makes a case for demigod status in the world of bluegrass and old-time fiddle, playing like a saint and pulling incredibly rich tones out of the instrument. It perhaps helps that he’s a fiddle maker and owns two violin shops (one in Nashville and the other in San Francisco!). Hailing originally from a small Kentucky tobacco family farm where proceeds from the family crop paid for his first fiddle, Godman has the Southern bonafides to make it in bluegrass. He’s joined here by a who’s-who of bluegrass and old-time across generations, from fellow fiddler Lewis to Darol Anger, Hasee Ciaccio (Molly Tuttle’s bassist), fabulous mandolinists Joe K Walsh and Tristan Scroggins, accordionist Sam Reider (featured in last month’s column) and more. Each of the 14 tracks on Godman’s album are original – and quite catchy – no small feat in a tradition that often features improvisation over composition. If you’re looking for your new favourite bluegrass (or old-time) fiddle album, start here.

Also from California’s Bay Area, soul singer Quinn DeVeaux’s new album, Leisure (SofaBurn ★★★), is a languorous ode to summer days swinging on a hammock on the front porch. DeVeaux came up steeped in gospel and jazz from his grandmother, R&B and classic rock from his parents, and the great Muddy Waters from his own journey of discovery. He’s got an eclectic vision as a soul singer, referencing everything from bossa nova to Morricone, and the songs are catchy toe-tappers. Opening track ‘Very Best Thing’ reads like a pitch-perfect country song but sounds like soul and features DeVeaux’s friends, The California Honeydrops. ‘Evil Woman’ has one of the funkiest blues guitar lines in recent memory, and ‘USA’ is a heartfelt ode to growing up in the US. The album’s a bit rough around the edges, but the songs carry the listener along and DeVeaux’s got the kind of natural charisma you need in a soul singer.

Speaking of going to church, the new album, Rhapsody (Colemine Records ★★★★), from gospel trio The Harlem Gospel Travelers is a revelation, diving into the history of gospel funk from the 1960s. With elements of James Brown, some seriously funky guitars, and no small amount of smooth Hammond organ lines, this era of gospel is ripe for resurrection. Raiding the Numero Group’s back catalogue for these songs, the trio bring a sense of hope and positivity to the genre, not least because they’re determined to represent the many queer people that they say belong to the traditional church but are rarely recognised. It’s great to see a renowned reissue label like Numero open their vaults to a group like this, and hopefully it’ll push other labels to let artists re-record from their back catalogue, especially if we’re finding gems like these. ‘We Don’t Love Enough’ from Texas gospel group The Triumphs sounds like it was written yesterday, despairing over the division in our lives. ‘How can I lose, I know I can’t lose with the help of God,’ they sing on ‘How Can I Lose’, and they’ll have you believing too!

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today