The Slaughter Rule (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

This stellar soundtrack to an independent film about a coming-of-age Montana football player sounds like it was assembled by the staff of No Depression magazine. Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt fame scored the instrumentals with beautifully juxtaposed guitar feedback and acoustic arpeggios. Interspersed with a strong quiver of Bloodshot Records artists, Farrar's sonic vignettes help the songs form a panoramic sequence of ever-changing moods. Freakwater's "When I Stop Dreaming" boasts gorgeous vocal harmonies, and the choruses on Neko Case's "Porchlight" could have been sung by the sirens of O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Not since the soundtrack to O Brother, has an album of assorted Americana artists perfectly captured the essence of the late-'90s/early-‘00s roots-music movement. Of course such a representation wouldn't be the same without Ryan Adams' toe-tapping "To Be Young…" or Uncle Tupelo's loose cover of Gram Parsons' "Blue Eyes." The Pernice Brothers' "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown?" is the proverbial jewel in the crown here as Joe Pernice's buttery voice melts down the song like he was Colin Blunstone from the Zombies.