Son Volt is an American rock band formed in 1994 by Jay Farrar after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. The band's current line-up consists of Farrar (vocals, guitar), Andrew DuPlantis (bass guitar), John Horton (guitar), Mark Patterson (drums), and Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar). In addition to playing alternative rock, the band is considered a staple of the alternative country rock movement of the 1990s. The band's sound also is rooted in folk rock and Americana. The band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2001,[1] before reforming in 2004.[2]
The group formed after the alternative country rock act Uncle Tupelo broke up due to tensions between Farrar and bandmate Jeff Tweedy. After Uncle Tupelo split, Tweedy formed the alternative rock act Wilco, while Farrar decided to form another act. While forming Son Volt, Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour and teamed up with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn to create the band. The group performed and recorded in the Minneapolis area in late 1994 and performed its first concert at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on June 16, 1995. While half of the band was rooted in the Minneapolis area, Farrar and Heidorn lived in the St. Louis area, and the band used both cities as bases for its operations during the first couple of years.
Son Volt's first album, Trace, met with critical acclaim and topped many "best-of" lists in 1995. It was a moderate commercial success; the first track "Windfall" became very popular in the alt-country scene, while the band released "Drown" as a single which charted #10 on the mainstream rock charts and #25 on the modern rock charts. By 2009, Trace had sold 297,000 copies in the United States.[3]
1997's Straightaways followed in the same vein as Trace with even a more acoustic feel, leading some music critics to give negative reviews, but strong and positive reviews came from outlets such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune. 1998's Wide Swing Tremolo featured a heavier rock sound and received mostly positive reviews from music outlets. Entertainment Weekly wrote that "many of the songs ... return to the power and purity of the band’s brilliant 1995 debut, Trace."
Farrar announced a hiatus from Son Volt after their 1999 tour. Beginning in 2001, Jay Farrar released several solo efforts that postponed further releases from Son Volt. Farrar reformed with the original members of Son Volt to record a song for a tribute album for Alejandro Escovedo. The sessions reportedly went so well that Farrar and the other band members intended to record once again in the autumn of 2004. Just prior to the sessions, however, Farrar and the other band members abruptly ended negotiations.[4] Farrar formed a new version of the band with a different line-up and released an album on Transmit Sound/Sony Legacy, Okemah and the Melody of Riot, a folk-rock album based on protest music that had been influenced by Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.[5] in 2005. That same year also saw the release of A Retrospective: 1995-2000, which gathered highlights from this era, along with previously unreleased recordings. 2006 saw the release of a live DVD, Six String Belief, which was recorded at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC.
In 2007, the band returned to an alternative rock and alt-country sound and released a studio album called The Search. The Americana- and folk-influenced album American Central Dust followed, released by Rounder Records on July 7, 2009. Their next project was a Bakersfield Sound-influenced album aptly named Honky Tonk, which was released March 5, 2013, also by Rounder Records. A large scale tour followed the release of the album.[6] On February 17, 2017, the band released Notes of Blue on Farrar's label, Transmit Sound.
The band's ninth studio album, Union, was released on March 28, 2019 on Farrar's Transmit Sound label and distributed by Thirty Tigers Records.[7] The album consisted of songs that were highly critical of the election of US President Donald Trump and his administration. Many of the songs were commentaries on middle-class economics, freedom of the press, and immigration. Son Volt's tenth album, Electro Melodier, was released on July 30, 2021. In early summer 2021, guitarist Chris Frame announced that he would be leaving the band to pursue other interests and was replaced by former Bottle Rockets guitarist John Horton. The tribute album Day of the Doug followed in 2023.
Son Volt's music ranges from quiet folk ballads reminiscent of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, to heartland rock in the spirit of Neil Young with Crazy Horse. The band's sound features a heavy alternative rock sound in many places, all while basing their music in mostly an Americana style.[8] Reviews refer to the band as alternative country pioneers, a "staple in the alt-country scene" or "a cult favorite", with their music "spanning a few musical niches", but based in Americana.[9][10][11]
Current[12]
Former
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [13] |
US Heat. [13] |
US Ind. [13] |
US Alt. [13] | |||
| Trace |
|
166 | 7 | — | — |
|
| Straightaways |
|
44 | — | — | — |
|
| Wide Swing Tremolo |
|
93 | — | — | — | |
| Okemah and the Melody of Riot |
|
89 | — | — | — | |
| The Search |
|
81 | — | 6 | — | |
| American Central Dust |
|
44 | — | — | 12 |
|
| Honky Tonk |
|
67 | — | — | 16 | |
| Notes of Blue |
|
91 | — | 4 | 10 | |
| Union |
|
— | — | 6 | — | |
| Electro Melodier |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Day of the Doug |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA [13] |
US Heritage [13] |
US Main. [13] |
US Mod. [13] |
CAN Alt. [19] | |||
| "Windfall"[14] | 1995 | — | — | — | — | — | Trace |
| "Drown"[20] | 15 | — | 10 | 25 | — | ||
| "Loose String" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Route"[21] | 1996 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Back Into Your World"[15] | 1997 | — | — | — | — | — | Straightaways |
| "Picking Up the Signal" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Caryatid Easy" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Driving the View"[16] | 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | Wide Swing Tremolo |
| "Straightface" | — | 28 | — | — | 8 | ||
| "Joe Citizen Blues/Jet Pilot" | 2005 | — | — | — | — | — | Okemah and the Melody of Riot |
| "The Picture" | 2007 | 30 | — | — | — | — | The Search |
| "Down to the Wire" | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | American Central Dust |
| "Hearts and Minds" | 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | Honky Tonk |
| "Back Against the Wall" | 2017 | 24 | — | — | — | — | Notes of Blue |
| "The 99"[22] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | Union |
| "The Reason"[23] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Globe"[24] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Electro Melodier |
| "Reverie"[25] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Livin' in the USA"[26] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Drown" | Steven Goldmann |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
