That struggle and the allure of elusive bliss through song have been evident since Son Volt’s debut.
Other songs follow the determined motto “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” “Light after darkness, that is the way,” sings Farrar. “ Promise the World” describes hell to pay on the road to hard-won peace, but suggests that the payoff is sweet, worthwhile, and perhaps even inevitable. That’s the place I turn to be lifted up.” For me, the blues fills that void that’s there for religion, really. “Everyone has to pay the rent and get along with their significant others, so many of the themes are universal. “For years I’ve been drawn to the passion, common struggle and possibility for redemption that’s always been a part of the blues,” he says in a press release.
The band’s latest material finds Farrar continuing his quest for spiritual freedom through roots and folk music.
The literate folk of Bob Dylan echoes through Son Volt’s country ballads, including the troubled “ Cairo and Southern,” while the unfettered snarl of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse runs through songs like “ Sinking Down” from recent album “Notes of Blue” and the accusatory tone of signature song “ Drown” from 1995 debut “Trace.” The ghosts of Jack Kerouac and Hank Williams inform tales of untethered but resilient people enduring hard times in songs like “ Back Against the Wall.” Local fixture Wilco ascended to greater commercial success with its progressive pop sound, but Jay Farrar’s Son Volt built a lasting legacy by hewing closer to the band’s early roots. When Belleville, Illinois, alt-country frontrunners Uncle Tupelo split in 1994, two of the genre’s signature bands rose from the wreckage.
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