You are gonna know right away if you like this. Fan of the Drive-By Truckers? How about the more country twinged Replacements stuff? Dig scruffy-voiced dudes singing about the day-in, day-out trials of love? Yeah, me too. Will asks us to suggest a track, so I’m going to recommend a shit-kicker (there are two types of songs on this album, “shit-kickers” and “slow-talkers”): “Fast in Last”. This will give you a good idea of what you’re in for with Jon Snodgrass’ first solo effort; a perfectly paced slab of punk infused Americana.
One of the great things about Visitor’s Band is how versatile Jon’s voice sounds, which is funny, because his inflection really doesn’t change all that much; whether he’s beltin’ out a chorus, or whispering a revelation, the graveled delivery really just changes volume, not intensity. Now, I also like Drag the River, Jon’s other project, but Visitor’s Band lets him focus on himself while also gathering a bunch of great musicians to help back him up, from Two Cow Garage to Chad Rex, who played in Armchair Martian.
One more thing to note – and maybe this is the reason why I’m liking Visitor’s Band so much – is that this is another release that reminds me of my grandfather; he loved Johnny Cash and a lot of older, traditional country, so it makes sense. It seems that recently, there have been a ton of folk and country efforts from the punk community that the two of us would have been able to enjoy together, which makes all of this great output from the likes of Suburban Home and No Idea a bit bittersweet for me; I’ll always wish I had the opportunity to take Gramp to one of “my” shows. It would have finally made sense to him because good music makes sense. Whether it’s with car windows rolled down or whiskey in your glass, a release like this just sounds timeless, which is a beautiful thing.
Label: Suburban Home
Fast In Last
Song For Jake Nichols To Sing
If you don’t know the name Mike Law, you really should. He fronted the amazing, but truly underrated 
