It’s not a great exaggeration or even a particularly warm take to say that Ryan Davis is one of the finest songwriters anywhere. His songs are inseparably personal and existential. He sings the quietest thoughts at the loudest volume. He sings each one like it’ll be his last word before riding off into the sunset, leaving us with only two records, iPhone videos and laptop demos we’d be pouring over long past pertinence and well into our own senility. I could extol his talent for ten more minutes- about the length of one of these tracks- and not have time to make the full sell on this incredible Indiana singer, the music collective that backs him and this amazing record they put out.

Fans of progressive Americana of all kinds have been enjoying an embarrassment of riches through these 2020s with almost every kind of folk adjacent genre receiving a new generation of talent that sums and succeeds the previous one. Maybe it’s some kind of patriotism speaking out here at the end to say “hey, it wasn’t all bad.” Maybe it’s that folks across the music spectrum from Fahey to O’Rourke, from Tweedy to Callahan , to our dear departed David Berman have finally gone from “ahead of their time” through “essential” and into “influential.” Indi darling and Ryan Davis associate MJ Lenderman already has a guitar hanging in the country music hall of fame, and it feels like it happened so fast that when I saw it in march I thought “doesn’t he still need that? Guitars are expensive.”

Though there’s room for everyone on the stage (not literally, because everyone that’s not a solo artist seems to have a ten piece band,) Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band deserves your special attention. Their tunes are progressive and playful alt country with flashes of Midwestern post-rock, slacker rock, cosmic country, moments of noise, electronics, and one drum ‘n bass breakdown. The lyrics are insightful, humorous, and illustrative. Each one is sung wonderfully with tons of emotion and expression. Sometimes I feel like all my favorite singers couldn’t sing and that goes double for my favorite lyricists. Davis delivers potent and sometimes ambitious lines with conviction, character and ample twang.

The Roadhouse Band itself operates as a sort of collective of musicians associated with Ryan’s label, Sophomore Lounge. They each have their own excellent records and in fact released two albums as The Roadhouse Band that year, but that’s a different post. There are at least 20 folks on this record and there were 7 on stage at his appearance at Big Ears. On the record and at the show the mix was immaculate with modular electronics and woodwinds and auxiliary percussion perfectly intertwined. The Roadhouse Band makes the perfect platform for the ambitious songs and ambitious dance moves Davis lays down. Seriously, how the hell does he boogie like that in those skinny jeans?

Don’t miss this record, or the last one or the next one for that matter. Check out their tours as well. I wouldn’t be mad if they put out a live album for record #3. That would be a bit hasty for some bands but these folks have more than earned it. Everything he’s done lately his high effort and high reward while feeling natural and easy when it arrives through your headphones. Give New Threats From The Soul a spin and enjoy alt country that’s truly alternative, truly country, and a secret third thing that only Ryan Davis can be.