From his earliest recordings in the 1990s as a founding member of Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar has been a keen observer of the American landscape: its beauties and its tragedies, salvations and poisons. His two-decades of touring and travel as the leader of Son Volt as well as a solo artist have deepened and sharpened his gift for capturing the sights and sounds of his American journey - a gift which is in evidence once again on Son Volt's sixth studio album, Honky Tonk.

Excavating, distilling and reimagining the classic honky tonk sound of Bakersfield the music on this album is about heartache, but there's also optimism and perseverance.