Brett Larson

Songwriter Brett Larson sings of love lost and found from his vantage point in rural Minnesota on One of These Roads. The collection showcases Larson’s songwriting, which has been featured on two previous House of Mercy Recordings as well as the 2013 CD Driftin’ Along by the Blood Washed Band, a group composed of some of the Twin Cities’ top alt-country musicians, including several who contribute their talents to One of These Roads.

The trademark themes of drinking and salvation from Larson’s previous releases are only hinted at in these songs, but his self-deprecating humor is present from the haunting first track. “Haven’t hit the bottom — since the last time,” Larson confesses, ending with the same sober realism: “ I’ll never fall again — until the next time.” Larson’s unpolished vocals and understated guitar playing complement the deceptive simplicity of the songs. “I like simple songs because they’re the only kind I know how to play,” Larson quips. As influences, he cites Sunday night sing-alongs at church, a love of country music that started with Hee Haw and the Glen Campbell show, and teenage visits to the Coffeehouse Extempore in 1970's Minneapolis.

Larson sings solo or with minimal accompaniment on four of the songs and is joined by a strong group of Twin Cities musicians on the rest, including guitarist Dave Strahan (Romantica, Farewell Milwaukee), bassist Quillan Roe of the Roe Family Singers, fiddler and mandolin player Jake Hyer of Pocahontas County and other groups, and vocalist Angie Talle. The CD was produced by Erik Brandt of the Urban Hillbilly Quartet, who plays keyboards on the CD, and recorded by Levi Stugelmeyer, who plays drums.