The Resurrection of Son Volt

by Tom Chandler
After a prolonged hiatus, Jay Farrar has resurrected his seminal alt-country band. He’s been very public about his desire to get back to a basic format rock band, after the revolving door of his solo projects. The big question was, what the hell was it going to sound like after it became known that none of the original members (save “special guest” Eric Heywood) would be returning? What made it different from just another Jay Farrar solo disc?

Now that it’s here, the answer is that Son Volt 2005 is true to the spirit of the original. Bathed in glowing electric guitar tones, Okemah and the Melody of Riot is a rocking record. The bizarre name is drawn from Woodie Guthrie’s birth place (Okemah, Olkahoma) and the anti-establishment mentality Farrar has been leaning towards since Wide Swing Tremolo. What we get is a muscular two guitar band focused on rock tunes, ala the Son Volt of “Straightface” or “Drown.” Gone are the magical country turns that characterized Trace, and, on the other end, gone is sonic noise experimentation of Farrar’s music since Wide Swing.

So Jay was true to his word. He wanted to strip down and get back to basics, and musically that’s what he did. Many of the songs on Okemah are the strongest he’s had in a while, and the vibe is way more cohesive than either Sebastopol or Terroir Blues. Andrew Duplantis on bass and Dave Bryson on drums really pump it out, and Brad Rice on lead guitar has the sound down. I wish he was the multiple threat on guitar, banjo, violin and lap steel like his predecessor Dave Boquist, but really that doesn’t matter too much.

In fact, the true test is when you crank up the volume. Over headphones on your computer, it’s a pretty cool record. Whalloping through the speakers of the actual sound system, it fucking rocks. In particular, the chorus of “Atmosphere” has gotten itself lodged in my head. There are some really good feelings here.

Did somebody say good feeling? This is Jay Farrar, right? Jay, whose former bandmate Jeff Tweedy accused of trying to put together a band of guys who didn’t smile? Well, take a look at their press photo, reproduced without any Photoshop tampering. Jay is smiling. Right? That in itself is the main distinction between this Son Volt and the Son Volt that was. These guys are happy.

Well, maybe that’s harsh. Probably the other guys were happy too, but the music and vibe was one of lonesomeness and dark highways. Tales of addiction and the liberation of leaving down the highway. Not anymore. Now Jay is “thinking about the future and what to do then, with the words of Woody Guthrie ringing in my head.” He’s feeling pretty good, this guy. And I think that’s fantastic.

The only thing I have to say that’s negative is that sometimes Jay’s lyrics get a little cringeworthy these days. I don’t like to quote lyrics extensively, but I have issues with “Afterglow 61” and its overly obvious stab at being a road song. I also can’t really bear rock songs that are paeans to Rock and Roll, like “Six String Belief”. But that particular problem has been haunting Jay since he started to grow out of the old Son Volt and went solo. Some beautiful words, and some definite clunkers too.
The answer is that Okemah and the new Son Volt is really pretty amazing. I started listening with the biggest chip on my shoulder you can imagine. I don’t know why, but even though I’m a longtime Farrar fan, I wasn’t prepared to like the new band. But they won me over. Go figure.