Son Volt - "American Central Dust"

Son Volt
"American Central Dust"
Rounder Records
Released July 7, 2009

Son Volt should not be making an album this good in 2009.

The alt-country outfit, which rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo along with the more successful band Wilco, broke up in 1999 as singer Jay Farrar launched a solo career. When his solo career foundered, Farrar revived Son Volt in name only - none of the original band members returned.

Maybe it was purely a financial decision for Farrar to reboot the Son Volt name, but after three albums, Son Volt 2.0 is proving to be an upgrade.

The retooled lineup, which launched in 2005 with the magnificent "Okemah and the Melody of Riot" has surprisingly proven more consistent than its original incarnation. The band continued to expand Farrar's sonic palette and added a noticeably political voice, especially on "Okemah's" follow-up, "The Search".

"American Central Dust" finds Farrar retreating from the more expansive sound of "The Search." harking back to Son Volt's 1995 debut, "Trace." Filled wth mournful fiddles and pedal steel, the album carries the melancholy of Farrar's finest work, but without the reckless rock and roll to balance the mood. The only time the tempo really picks up is on the album-closing singalong, "Jukebox of Steel."

Instead the album carries a campfire intimacy on tracks like "Pushed Too Far" and "Dust of Daylight." "Sultana" tells the tale of America's first naval disaster, the 1865 sinking of a river transport ship which Farrar refers to as the "Titanic of the Mississippi."

But Farrar still maintains the political edge of Son Volt's more recent work, especially on the environmental anthem "When the Wheels Don't Move."

"American Central Dust" isn't Son Volt's best outing, but its damn close.

Next I'll look at Farrar's former partner in crime from Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy, and see how "Wilco (The Album)" stands up.