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 almost two decades as the leader of Son Volt (as well as impressive turns as an acclaimed solo artist and collaborator) have only 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." After all, few places are as quintessentially American as the honky tonks where neon beckons to lonely and discontented souls with the promise that sorrows can be drowned in whiskey, cigarettes, and a timeless music of clear hard truths in which fiddle and pedal steel sweetly commiserate. The music on "Honky Tonk" draws on and refers to Merle Haggard and other masters of honky-tonk music while keeping the pure Son Volt sense of poetry. We at The Ark are proud to welcome Son Volt with their sixth album, and their first since 2009–a profound reflection on classic country music and its resonance in American music.