Trace

AMG Review of Trace

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Jay Farrar always provided the darkest, grittiest moments in Uncle Tupelo, so it comes as no surprise that Son Volt is a rawer record than A.M., the first album by Wilco, a band led by his former partner Jeff Tweedy. Throughout Son Volt's debut, Trace, the group reworks classic honky tonk and ock & roll, adding a desperate, determined edge to their performances. Even when they rock out, there is a palpable sense of melancholy to Farrar's voice, which lends a poignancy to the music. Trace isn't a great step forward from Tupelo's last album, the lovely Anodyne, but it is a fine continuation of the ideas Farrar has pursued over the course of his career.