Single Premiere: Fathom Lane, “Sad Songs and Waltzes Revisited”
On their new album In the Driftless, the Minneapolis country-folk rockers cover a Mary Cutrufello classic. Hear it first here!
Fathom Lane’s In The Driftless album artwork.
On their first album since 2017’s Asilomar, Minneapolis indie folk-rock band Fathom Lane leans into the alt-country / cosmic Americana side of their trademark sound.
The indie-rock elements are still very much present on the new album, In The Driftless, which drops Friday, July 14. But when it kicks into 3/4 time, when lap steel threads through the instrumentation, when Ashleigh Still’s harmonies intertwine with Michael Ferrier’s lead vocals—drawing undeniable comparisons to Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris—the record hits sheer country bliss.
Nowhere is that more true than on one of the two ingeniously chosen cover songs that grace the album, “Sad Songs and Waltzes Revisited.” We’re honored to present the exclusive premiere of this new single today!
Ashleigh Still & Michael Ferrier of Fathom Lane. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
The track, whose title is a play on a Willie Nelson original, is a creative rendering of a 1990s song by St. Paul country/rock fixture Mary Cutrufello. Before she relocated to Minnesota, Cutrufello spent years in Texas, soaking up country music history and culture in Austin and playing smoky roadhouses in Dallas. (It’s no coincidence that another Texas country transplant to the Twin Cities, Trevor McSpadden, sought her out when he moved here. They now perform together frequently, including at their regular Tuesday gig at the White Squirrel Bar in St. Paul.) You can’t find Cutrufello’s version on any streaming platform, but you can hear her perform it occasionally.
“I discovered ‘Sad Songs and Waltzes Revisited’ when I met Mary at a songwriting showcase,” Ferrier says. “I fell in love with the tune and asked if Fathom Lane could try and cover it and make it our own. She said yes, thank goodness, because we had such a great time recording it and we love playing it live.”
On Fathom Lane’s version, electric and lap steel guitars weep together over the slow waltz rhythm while Still’s voice softly shadows Ferrier’s, creating a haunting undercurrent as he sings about finding comfort in touring life while trying to recover from heartbreak. “This tune really spoke to me because goddamn, I write a ton of sad songs and waltzes,” Ferrier says. “I also loved the simplicity of the lyric ‘I’m gonna buy me a pickup, and pick up my pieces,’ which really resonated for me having had to pick up my pieces a few different times over the years.”
Listen to “Sad Songs and Waltzes Revisited”!
Album Release Show
In The Driftless comes out Friday, July 14. Fathom Lane is celebrating this Thursday, July 13, 2023, with an album release party at Icehouse in Minneapolis. Doors are at 8pm, and music starts at 9pm with an opening set from Minneapolis retro folk-pop trio Turn Turn Turn.
Song Credits
Alexander Young - drums, percussion
Paul Boblett - bass guitar
Matt Patrick - electric guitar, Hammond organ
Shane Akers - lap steel
Ashleigh Still - piano, vocals
Michael Ferrier - vocals, acoustic guitar
Written by Mary Cutrufello
Produced by Matt Patrick & Michael Ferrier
Recorded and mixed at The Library Studio in Minneapolis by Matt Patrick
Mastered by Huntley Miller, Matt Patrick and Greg Reierson
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
