Notes of Blue

by 
AlbumFeb 17 / 201710 songs, 30m 33s90%
Alt-Country
Popular
7 / 10

This is what Jay Farrar's always been about: folk tales strung out over the sounds of the past like pylon wires.

Also Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Mind Over Mirrors, and Otis Taylor​

Twenty-five years on, Farrar hasn't abandoned that formula, and while he puts a somewhat different spin on his songwriting on 2017's Notes of Blue, recorded with the latest edition of his band Son Volt, it's entirely obvious that this is Farrar's work less than 30 seconds into the first track, "Promise the World."

7 / 10

Like many of music's celebrated, prolific songwriting talents, there is a restlessness that bubbles at the centre of St. Louis alt-country m...

7.0 / 10

From the first moment of the achingly beautiful opener "Promise the World" we capitulate, our minds recalling some of the first moments we heard Anodyne from Son Volt precursor Uncle Tupelo.

Notes of Blue is Son Volt’s most direct, concise, and uptempo music in years.

8 / 10