Son Volt - Trace [Holland Import]

When Uncle Tupelo split, Jay Farrar answered with Trace, the 1995 Son Volt debut that helped define alt-country, here as a Holland import.

Farrar formed the band in 1994 with drummer Mike Heidorn, his old Uncle Tupelo bandmate, and brothers Jim and Dave Boquist. Before release there was plenty of chatter about whether Son Volt or Wilco, the other band to rise from the breakup, would make the stronger record. Trace answered with quiet authority, landing on critics' lists for the year and later ranking among the finest albums the genre has produced.

Recorded in Minnesota with producer Brian Paulson, the record moves between two moods. "Windfall" is the gentle opener, fiddle and steel guitar drifting along like a late drive with the radio on, Farrar's baritone sounding weary and hopeful at once. "Drown" kicks the amps up and became the band's biggest rock radio hit, while "Tear Stained Eye" leans into country heartache with a melody that lingers. A cover of Ronnie Wood's "Mystifies Me" closes things with a shot of ragged warmth.

Few debuts sound this sure of themselves. Trace still captures the American backroads in eleven songs, all dust and distance, and it belongs near the top of any alt-country shelf.