Richmond Fontaine | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Playing brittle and evocative alt-country with lyrics that draw powerful and sometimes troubling portraits of life along the margins of the contemporary American West, Richmond Fontaine is the brainchild of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Willy Vlautin, who was born in Reno, Nevada. When Vlautin was in his early teens, his older brother moved to Los Angeles and became interested in the many roots-influenced bands in the citys punk rock scene. He began sending Willy tapes of bands such as the Blasters, Rank & File, and the Long Ryders, and Vlautin became enamored of their blend of punk energy and C&W; twang. At 16, Vlautin formed his first band, but after several years he became disenchanted with the limited opportunities to play original music in Reno, and moved to Portland, Oregon in 1994. Not long after he relocated, Vlautin met bassist Dave Harding; discovering their shared enthusiasm for the Blasters, the Replacements, and Hüsker Dü, Vlautin and Harding decided to form a band, and recruited drummer Stuart Gaston to form the first lineup of Richmond Fontaine. After gigging locally, the band recorded their first album, Safety, for the local Cravedog Records label in 1996. Later that same year, the band bought the album back from Cravedog and signed to a larger independent label, Cavity Search Records, who reissued Safety that same year; lots of West Coast touring and a few trips to the East and Midwest followed. In 1997, the band recorded and released their second album, Miles From, and set out on another nationwide tour. By the time their third album, Lost Son, came out in 1999, Sean Oldham had replaced Gaston on drums, and pedal-steel guitarist Paul Brainard, who had played on several cuts on Miles From, had signed on as a full-time member of the band. A live EP, Whiskey, Painkillers & Speed, was released in 2001, and the following year the group completed work on their fourth album, Winnemucca, which arrived on the El Cortez label. Post to Wire emerged in 2004, with Fitzgerald and Obliteration by Time both appearing the next year. In 2006, Vlautins first novel, a well-received, crime-haunted story about two brothers from Reno titled The Motel Life, was published by Faber & Faber. He continued both his writing and his songwriting, issuing Thirteen Cities and a companion EP of unreleased songs and remixes, $87 & a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go, in 2007. A full-length album recorded live at a 2005 show in Portland, Live at the Doug Fir Lounge was also released that year. The bands next LP, 2009s We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River, consisted of 14 songs written around and about the Pacific Northwest." Still with El Cortez, Postcard from Portland: Live at Dantes, and their tenth studio album, High Country, came out in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A five-year gap preceded their 11th studio LP, which was revealed to be Richmond Fontaines last. With Vlautin having established a parallel career as a novelist -- his fourth book, The Free, and a film version of The Motel Life arrived during the break between records -– and having parted ways with their label and with Harding (though the bassist did lend acoustic guitar to the album), the band brought in bass player Freddy Trujillo for a final outing. Also featuring guitar by frequent collaborator Dan Eccles and the keyboard skills of Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists, You Cant Go Back If Theres Nothing to Go Back To was built around a loose narrative involving the exploits of two cowboy brothers. A melancholy goodbye from Vlautin "about paying the price for the way ones lived," was released by Fluff & Gravy Records in March 2016. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 16 Title: Safety Released: 1996 Tracks: 12 Duration: 40:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dayton, OH (02:41) 2 Harolds Club (02:01) 3 Settle (05:13) 4 Safety (02:39) 5 Riverhouse (02:42) 6 White Line Fever (05:09) 7 Novocaine (02:53) 8 Whirlpool (03:50) 9 1968 (03:11) 10 Kid Steps Out Into the Road (01:37) 11 Wagonwheel Motel (02:34) 12 Watsonville Waltz (05:47) |
| Safety : Allmusic album Review : Its hard to listen to Richmond Fontaines debut album, Safety, and not find yourself thinking youre hearing "Uncle Tupelo Junior," a comparison that doesnt always flatter the band. Guitarist and lead vocalist Willy Vlautin certainly cant be faulted for the fact that his voice naturally sounds a bit like Jay Farrars, but the groups scruffy and brittle alt-country attack suggests this band spent a lot of time listening to No Depression and had embraced the sound without managing to sound as tight or as powerful. (The albums low-budget production doesnt do much to mask the fledging groups flaws, either.) But even a casual listen reveals that as a songwriter, Willy Vlautin has a lyrical voice thats powerful, distinctive, and all his own -- Vlautin has published a number of short stories, and his songs chronicle the lonely and desperate lives of his characters with a literate but plain-spoken feel for detail thats at once economical and evocative. Not a lot of songwriters in any pop genre could create characters like the thieves-turned-murderers of "No Safety," the speed addicted loser of "White Line Fever," or the suicidal child of "Kid Steps Out Into The Road." Listing to Willy Valutin sing, you might think hes trying to be Jay Farrar, but once you hear what hes singing, you realize he isnt following anyone but himself, and for all its flaws, Vlautins songs make Safety a genuinely compelling debut. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 16 Title: Miles From Released: 1997 Tracks: 12 Duration: 48:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Trembling Leaves (03:41) 2 Give Me Time (03:02) 3 Miles From (04:52) 4 Evergreen Power Line (02:27) 5 McDermitt (04:34) 6 Grandview (04:14) 7 Collapse (04:37) 8 Calm (03:23) 9 Blinding Sight (05:25) 10 White Out (03:24) 11 Under Florescent Lights (03:04) 12 Concussion (05:35) |
| Miles From : Allmusic album Review : Spending a year on the road made a very big difference for Richmond Fontaine, judging from their second album, Miles From. While Richmond Fontaine sounded like a scrappy and slightly sloppy bunch of Uncle Tupelo wannabes on much of their debut, Safety, their second set is stronger, tighter, and reveals a far stronger musical identity of their own; bassist Dave Harding and drummer Stuart Gaston had cohered into a strong and sympathetic rhythm section, and Willy Vlautins guitar work is significantly more dynamic and muscular than hed sounded first time at bat. Vlautins melodies also began to develop a more distinctive flavor, at once leaner and more precisely detailed, and the addition of Paul Brainards pedal steel guitar honors the country undertow of these songs without getting stuck in aural clichés (especially on the instrumental "Grandview"). But one thing that remained consistent through Safety and Miles From is the quality of Willy Vlautins songwriting; suggesting the clean narrative lines and morally troubling perspective of Raymond Carver, Vlautins tales of damaged lives and lost souls are vivid, honest, and evoke both horror and compassion in equal measures, and if his sometimes wobbly voice still resembles Jay Farrar, his lyrics make it clear his songs are his and his alone. Powerful stuff from a band who richly deserves a wider hearing than theyve received. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 16 Title: Lost Son Released: 1999-10 Tracks: 11 Duration: 53:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Savior of Time (04:07) 2 Ft. Lewis (02:57) 3 Cascade (04:22) 4 Mule (06:25) 5 Contrails (04:11) 6 Fifteen Year Old Kid in Nogales Mexico (06:15) 7 Pinkerton (02:54) 8 A Girl in a House in Felony Flats (07:36) 9 Muddy Concience (02:34) 10 Four Hours Out (05:10) 11 Hope & Repair (06:45) |
| Lost Son : Allmusic album Review : Lost Son is a beautiful album, a collection of narratives whose characters are both fascinating and doomed. From the kid of "Cascade" to the security guard of "Pinkerton," the subjects of the songs move through despair and hope, while the listener tries to figure out what happens after the song ends. Musically, the album is just as compelling: the loud, ragged guitars and pounding drums of "Mule," "Savior of Time," and "Muddy Conscience" often give way to quiet acoustics, mandolins, and pedal steel; the overall effect is a rich, textured record. Like a Son Volt that manages to rock while at the same time delivering slow songs that never come across as dirge-like, Richmond Fontaine is one of Portland, ORs best exports, and Lost Son is certainly one of their finer works. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 16 Title: Whiskey, Painkillers & Speed (Live on the Road) Released: 2001-07-07 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:08:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Hector’s Hideaway (Crystal Ballroom 11-27-99 PDX) (05:22) 2 Give Me Time (Crystal Ballroom 11-27-99 PDX) (03:29) 3 1968 (Aladdin 12-13-99 PDX) (04:17) 4 El Cortez (Snake & Weasel 1-8-00 PDX) (06:06) 5 Lost Son (Albums on the Hill In-Store 10-14-99 Boulder CO) (04:50) 6 Mankato (Aladdin 6-7-99 PDX) (00:39) 7 Pinkerton (Aladdin 6-7-99 PDX) (02:56) 8 Concussion (Aladdin 6-7-99 PDX) (05:45) 9 KPCU Case (KPSU 1-27-00 PDX) (01:04) 10 Go Dave Go (KPSU 1-27-00 PDX) (00:27) 11 Trembling Leaves (KPSU 1-27-00 PDX) (05:12) 12 Contrails (KRCL 10-12-99 SLC) (04:16) 13 Made in Japan (Snake & Weasel 1-8-00 PDX) (03:23) 14 Willie (7th Street Entry 10-26-99 MPLS) (01:47) 15 Harold’s Club (7th Street Entry 10-26-99 MPLS) (02:19) 16 Tulagi (Tulagi 3-26-00 Boulder CO) (01:00) 17 Fade Away (Tulagi 3-26-00 Boulder CO) (07:05) 18 Madison (O’Cayz Corral 10-23-99 Madison) (00:47) 19 Made to Be Broken (O’Cayz Corral 10-23-99 Madison) (02:38) 20 Happy Birthday to Will (01:21) 21 Breaking the Law (03:20) |
 | Album: 5 of 16 Title: Winnemucca Released: 2002 Tracks: 10 Duration: 47:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Winners Casino (04:06) 2 Out of State (03:03) 3 Northline (06:11) 4 Santiam (05:38) 5 Twyla (03:01) 6 Pattys Retreat (03:30) 7 Glisan Street (04:27) 8 Somewhere Near (04:12) 9 5 Degrees Below Zero (05:43) 10 Western Skyline (07:07) |
| Winnemucca : Allmusic album Review : Coming from the same domain as Ryan Adams, Gram Parsons, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, this Portland, OR, groups fourth album provides a great escape from suburbia, despite the rather abrupt ending to the opening pop twang of "Winners Casino" and "5 Degrees Below Zero." Lead singer Willy Vlautin propels the album with a voice that sounds as if its well wet from whiskey at times, particularly during "Out of State," which is equally a cross between Jeff Tweedy and Tom Pettys more reflective moments. By far the great track within is a heartfelt "Glisan Street," a rather somber and sober look at any small town and its problems. Theres also a measure of guitar feedback and distortion in places, lending itself toward Wilco on "Northline," although the song drags near the conclusion. Accompanied by pedal steel guitar, the songs are relatively tight in their arrangements despite being quite lengthy in cases. The album takes a very odd turn during the middle, with two instrumentals, one veering into experimental territory. "Pattys Retreat" would fit well on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 16 Title: Post to Wire Released: 2003 Tracks: 16 Duration: 47:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Longer You Wait (02:38) 2 Barely Losing (02:47) 3 Montgomery Park (03:00) 4 (Walters on the Lam) (01:07) 5 Through (04:30) 6 (Postcard From California) (00:48) 7 Two Broken Hearts (03:21) 8 Hallway (03:20) 9 (Postcard Written With a Broken Hand) (00:53) 10 Post to Wire (02:13) 11 Polaroid (04:19) 12 Always on the Ride (03:36) 13 (Postcard Postmarked Phoenix, AZ) (00:57) 14 Allison Johnson (02:23) 15 Willamette (07:52) 16 Valediction (03:15) |
 | Album: 7 of 16 Title: The Fitzgerald Released: 2005-05-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 38:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Warehouse Life (02:26) 2 Welhorn Yards (03:18) 3 Black Road (02:16) 4 Incident at Conklin Creek (03:26) 5 Disappeared (03:50) 6 Casino Lights (03:16) 7 Exit 194B (03:56) 8 Laramie, Wyoming (03:57) 9 The Janitor (05:51) 10 Dont Look and It Wont Hurt (02:37) 11 Making It Back (03:03) |
 | Album: 8 of 16 Title: Obliteration By Time Released: 2005-08-16 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:02:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dayton, OH (02:30) 2 Harolds Club (02:01) 3 Settle (05:12) 4 Give Me Time (03:44) 5 Collapse (05:01) 6 Song For Dead Moon (02:55) 7 Blinding Sight (04:03) 8 Kid Steps Out Into The Road (01:39) 9 Trembling Leaves (04:10) 10 1968 (03:19) 11 Miles From (05:44) 12 Novocaine (02:52) 13 Evergreen (02:29) 14 Concussion (05:41) 15 Pink Turns To Blue (02:14) 16 Chinatown (02:19) 17 White Line Fever (06:31) |
 | Album: 9 of 16 Title: Thirteen Cities Released: 2007-02 Tracks: 14 Duration: 43:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro/The Border (00:49) 2 Moving Back Home #2 (02:34) 3 $87 and a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go (03:34) 4 I Fell Into Painting Houses in Phoenix, Arizona (03:27) 5 El Tiradito (03:49) 6 A Ghost I Became (04:37) 7 Westward Ho (02:33) 8 St Ides, Parked Cars, And Other Peoples Homes (01:38) 9 The Kid From Belmont St (03:44) 10 Capsized (03:17) 11 Ballad of Dan Fanta (02:19) 12 The Disappearance of Ray Norton (03:11) 13 Four Walls (04:28) 14 Lost in this World (03:31) |
| Thirteen Cities : Allmusic album Review : 2007: the snap-pocket shirts, sideburns, literary leanings and pedal steels of alt-country are simply memories from the 90s. Movement hero and harbinger Jeff Tweedy has led Wilco far from the decade-old roots rock rusticisms of Being There, finding purchase in experimental landscapes dotted with the detritus of modern living. Many have forgotten that Ryan Adams once fronted a marvelous alt-country band called Whiskeytown, as the bedheaded man-child jettisons off into the pop star stratosphere, bouncing from rock to pop to punk to country (again). Not so for Richmond Fontaine, who are led by archetypal old-school-styled alt-country hero Willy Vlautin. The intelligent and slightly shaggy Vlautin, who has published a successful novel (and whose voice contains the perfect blend of fragility and gravel for this type of fare), writes smart songs -- poetic weepers that ride strains of deep twang and pedal steel and lash sweet pop melodicism to country intonations. For their seventh album, Thirteen Cities, the Portland, OR band headed into the deserts of Tucson to work for the third time in a row with J.D. Foster, who is known for producing Calexico and Richard Buckner. Calexico pitch in significantly with horns on the euphoric, sprightly pop-country of the opener, "Moving Back Home #2." Elsewhere, on the busily titled "$87 and a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go," sweet cries of pedal steel trail the mini sketches of Vlautins narrator, who witnesses enough suffering and depravity (a near-death boxing match, a tractor-trailer crash, a teenage runaway in a sexual tryst) to spur him into the kind of deeply beautiful and downtrodden existential crisis that was once Tweedys stock-in-trade (e.g. "Far, Far Away" from Being There). By the time one gets to "Capsized," whose down-by-luck narrator drifts, sells his possessions, and estranges himself from all palpable life, you begin to get the sense that the deeper Vlautin plunges his characters into despair, the brighter the twinkle of exultation in his eye. But all would be for naught if he didnt breathe rare life into these literary tales with melodies that often take breathtaking little turns and swoops. With Thirteen Cities, Richmond Fontaine employ varnished beauty to exceed the already high-water marks set by 2004s Post to Wire and 2005s The Fitzgerald. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 16 Title: $87 and a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go Released: 2007-11-13 Tracks: 8 Duration: 25:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 $87 and a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go (03:34) 2 Song for James Welch (04:48) 3 Kid From Belmont Street Gets Left on Colfax St. Denver, CO (03:36) 4 The Water Wars (03:21) 5 Moving Back Home #1 (02:04) 6 The Gits (02:35) 7 Wilson Dunlap (02:54) 8 $43.50 (02:23) |
 | Album: 11 of 16 Title: We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River Released: 2009 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River (03:26) 2 Northwest (00:30) 3 You Can Move Back Here (02:46) 4 The Boyfriends (03:27) 5 The Pull (04:04) 6 Sitting Outside My Dads Old House (01:03) 7 Maybe We Were Both Born Blue (02:43) 8 Watch Out (02:42) 9 43 (03:33) 10 Lonnie (04:01) 11 Ruby and Lou (02:50) 12 Walking Back to Our Place at 3 a.m. (02:23) 13 Two Alone (05:59) 14 A Letter to the Patron Saint of Nurses (03:24) |
 | Album: 12 of 16 Title: Postcard From Portland: Live at Dantes Released: 2010 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:09:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 White Line Fever (07:53) 2 We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River (03:58) 3 Maybe We Were Both Born Blue (02:59) 4 43 (03:48) 5 Two Alone (07:00) 6 Lost in This World (04:07) 7 El Tiradito (03:51) 8 Ruby and Lou (03:30) 9 The Gits (03:11) 10 Lonnie (04:27) 11 Watch Out (03:33) 12 Contrails (04:40) 13 Four Walls (06:50) 14 Song for Dead Moon (04:32) 15 Unlisted (04:53) |
 | Album: 13 of 16 Title: The High Country Released: 2011 Tracks: 7 Duration: 15:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Mechanic Calls the Girl at Work (02:15) 2 Timber Tom (01:03) 3 The Girl Waits for the Kid to Come Home (01:55) 4 Let Me Dream on the High Country (demo) (02:18) 5 My Daddy Was a Logging Man (00:48) 6 Claude Waits Outside the Auto Parts Store (03:47) 7 See We Were in Love (03:25) |
| The High Country : Allmusic album Review : Those cursing the demise of the traditional studio album may find comfort in the shape of Portland alt-country four-piece Richmond Fontaine, whose tenth studio album, The High Country, couldnt be less suited to the instant 30-second previews of todays download market. Taken out of context, many of its 17 tracks are nothing more than the meaningless spoken word interludes and incidental noodlings that sound like theyve been lifted from a Coen Brothers movie. But pieced together on an ambitious concept record, they form a vital part of the mysterious and slightly harrowing puzzle, providing a further sense of claustrophobia among the more conventional literary numbers. Of course, frontman Willy Vlautin is no stranger to the idea of the narrative, having already published three novels (one of which is being adapted into a film), but this ominous tale of two young lovers trying to escape their small-town roots is arguably his darkest to date, taking in everything from crystal meth addiction to twisted love affairs to murder. Unsurprisingly, its soundtrack is equally murky, drifting from world-weary alt-country ("Let Me Dream of the High Country") to disjointed Neil Young-esque blues ("The Mechanics Life") to hazy fingerpicking folk ("Claude Murrays Breakdown") in a fog of steel-laden twangs, mournful strings, and hushed melodies. At times, its unbearably intense, especially considering even the few uptempo numbers, such as the discordant blues-rock of "Angus King Tries to Leave the House," the fuzz-laden grunge of "The Chainsaw Sea," and the swaggering garage rock of "Lost in the Trees" are just as tortured and angst-ridden. But while its far from an easy listen, The High Country is an intriguing, if resolutely slow-burning, portrait of rural Americas underbelly, which is worth the perseverance. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 16 Title: High Country Released: 2011-09-05 Tracks: 17 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Inventory (?) 2 The Girl on the Logging Road (?) 3 The Chainsaw Sea (?) 4 Let Me Dream of the High Country (?) 5 The Mechanic Falls in Love With the Girl (?) 6 The Mechanics Life (?) 7 Angus King Tries to Leave the House (?) 8 The Meeting on the Logging Road (?) 9 Claude Murrays Breakdown (?) 10 The Eagles Lodge (?) 11 Driving Back to the Chainsaw Sea (?) 12 Lost in the Trees (?) 13 On a Spree (?) 14 Deciding to Run (?) 15 I Can See a Room (?) 16 The Escape (?) 17 Leaving (?) |
 | Album: 15 of 16 Title: You Cant Go Back If Theres Nothing To Go Back To Released: 2016-03-18 Tracks: 13 Duration: 48:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Leaving Bevs Miners Club At Dawn (01:34) 2 Wake Up Ray (03:38) 3 I Got Off The Bus (03:47) 4 Whitey And Me (Dont Ride Him Down) (05:23) 5 Lets Hit One More Place (02:55) 6 I Cant Black It Out If I Wake Up And Remember (05:12) 7 Dont Skip Out On Me (04:07) 8 Two Friends Lost At Sea (04:34) 9 Three Brothers Roll Into Town (03:44) 10 Tapped Out In Tulsa (03:01) 11 The Blind Horse (02:13) 12 A Night In The City (05:30) 13 Easy Run (02:59) |
 | Album: 16 of 16 Title: Dont Skip Out On Me Released: 2018-02-16 Tracks: 17 Duration: 49:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Horace Hopper (03:38) 2 Victor Gets On The Bus (00:57) 3 Dream Of The City And The City Itself (05:01) 4 Living Where Youre Not Wanted (01:59) 5 Horace And The Trophy (02:57) 6 Rescue And Defeat In Salt Lake CIty (02:57) 7 Horace Decides To Go Pro (01:05) 8 Mr. Reeses Place In La Jolla (02:54) 9 Hector Hidalgo (04:36) 10 Meeting Billy In El Paso (02:57) 11 Night Out WIith Diego (03:26) 12 Waking Up With Busted Ribs (02:10) 13 The Fight With Raymundo Figueroa (03:38) 14 Horses In Las Vegas (01:33) 15 Finding Horace On The Street (03:05) 16 Well Be Cattllemen (01:28) 17 Back Of The Pickup (04:49) |