Jay Farrar always provided the darkest, grittiest moments in Uncle Tupelo, so it comes as no surprise that Son Volt is a rawer record than A.M., the first album by Wilco, a band led by his former partner Jeff Tweedy. Throughout Son Volt's debut, Trace, the group reworks classic honky tonk and rock & roll, adding a desperate, determined edge to their performances. Even when they rock out, there is a palpable sense of melancholy to Farrar's voice, which lends a poignancy to th   [ read more ]

CD $13.26

VINYL FORMAT. 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 exhilaratingly carries on the tradition of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brot   [ read more ]

LP $15.99

Other people also bought:

Cass McCombs  Catacombs, Cass McCombs  Dropping The Writ, Daniel Johnston  1990 | Artistic Vice (Reissue)

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 exhilaratingly carries on the tradition of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Little F   [ read more ]

CD $14.99

Other people also bought:

Elliott Smith  New Moon, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart  The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Passion Pit  Manners

Although none of the songs on Straightaways immediately jump off the grooves, as was the case with the band's brilliant debut, Trace, repeated spins reveal a strong effort nonetheless. Whereas former Uncle Tupelo partner Jeff Tweedy and his band, Wilco, used its sophomore release to explore new territory, Son Volt leader and songwriter Jay Farrar keeps his band mining the same country-folk vein that Uncle Tupelo quarried. There are plenty of threads to connect Straightaways to    [ read more ]

CD $13.26

MP3 $8.99

Other people also bought:

Sonic Youth  E.V.O.L., Beck  Sea Change, Gang of Four  Square Logo Shirt

While there was never much question that Jay Farrar was the guiding light behind Son Volt, he's managed to extinguish any lingering doubts about that issue with Okemah and the Melody of Riot, his first album under the Son Volt handle since 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo. While Okemah sure sounds and feels like a Son Volt album, as it happens Farrar is the only musician in the band's new lineup who had ever played with Son Volt before, which for good or ill firmly establishes him as the   [ read more ]

CD $44.63

The seminal alt-country band Uncle Tupelo seemed poised on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough in 1994 when, to the surprise of many (including his bandmates), Jay Farrar quit the band to form Son Volt, in which he wouldn't have to share his creative vision with another songwriter. Son Volt's first album, 1995's Trace, was a beautiful and striking set of songs whose emotional power and soulful resonance suggested Farrar had made a shrewd choice in going out on his own. Then a f   [ read more ]

CD $13.26

While there was never much question that Jay Farrar was the guiding light behind Son Volt, he's managed to extinguish any lingering doubts about that issue with Okemah and the Melody of Riot, his first album under the Son Volt handle since 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo. While Okemah sure sounds and feels like a Son Volt album, as it happens Farrar is the only musician in the band's new lineup who had ever played with Son Volt before, which for good or ill firmly establishes him as the   [ read more ]

CD $8.54

When Jay Farrar resurrected the sound and approach (if not the personnel) of Son Volt for the 2005 album Okemah and the Melody of Riot, it was a welcome return to what Farrar does best after the poorly focused meanderings of much of his solo work. But while embracing the Son Volt handle energized his muse on Okemah, the second album from Son Volt 2.0, The Search, suggests it has also given him a clearer vision in his search for new sonic territory. The melodic textures of {^The Searc   [ read more ]

CD $15.18

While there was never much question that Jay Farrar was the guiding light behind Son Volt, he's managed to extinguish any lingering doubts about that issue with Okemah and the Melody of Riot, his first album under the Son Volt handle since 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo. While Okemah sure sounds and feels like a Son Volt album; as it happens, Farrar is the only musician in the band's new lineup who had ever played with Son Volt before, which for good or ill firmly establishes him as th   [ read more ]

DUAL DISC $18.97