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After more than two decades of making music with Son Volt, Jay Farrar wanted to get back to the roots— not just the roots of his own band, but the blues music that served as an inspiration for so much of what came after.
For his latest, "Notes of Blue," Farrar reached back to draw on the work of pioneering blues guitarists Mississippi Fred McDowell and Skip James, drawing on their alternative guitar tunings and James' finger-picking style.
He also turned to the bleak acoustic folk and tunings of moody Brit Nick Drake, whose original emo sound comes through on several of the new tracks.
"I've been a student of that convergence of blues-folk and country music for many years, so the approach I took this time was to learn some alternate tunings by guys that were icons and heroes," Farrar said in an interview last week. "That really takes the creative process in a different direction, because you're essentially re-learning the instrument. It just sounds different."
It's that sound, along with a handful of tracks from his earlier projects, that Farrar and Son Volt bring to The State Room on Wednesday.
"This is the first time we've been here in a few years and this time it's comprised with a sampling of the whole catalogue of Son Volt and even some of the Uncle Tupelo catalogue, as well," Farrar said.
So Farrar went back to his electric guitar and brought back the old Webster Chicago amplifier — featured on the jacket of "Trace" — to produce a vintage sound.
The product is an album that is somber and even bleak, but does, on occasion, turn that around. "Back Against the Wall," Farrar notes, is a rallying song about overcoming adversity, and, likewise, the Nick Drake-inspired "Promise the World" is focused on perseverance, with the refrain "Light after darkness, that is the way."
Farrar said he's been asked if the dark tone of the album was influenced by the political climate in recent months, but, because the songs were recorded months before the election and written even earlier, it is not.
His next project, however, will be. Farrar said he is writing songs from the mindset of Woody Guthrie reflecting on the current state of affairs. "I don't think he'd like it," Farrar said.
Farrar and Son Volt will be at The State Room on Wednesday night. The show is sold out, but you may luck out and get one through The State Room's online ticket exchange or find some for sale online. Doors open at 7 p.m., with singer-songwriter Sera Cahoone opening the night.
Twitter: @RobertGehrke —
With Sera Cahoone
When • Wednesday; doors at 7 p.m., show at 8
Where • The State Room, 638 S. State St., Salt Lake City
Tickets • Sold out