Richmond Fontaine emerged as the vision of Reno-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter Willy Vlautin, who shaped a brittle, evocative brand of alt-country whose lyrics painted stark, often unsettling scenes of life on the fringes of the modern American West. During his early teenage years, Vlautin’s older brother relocated to Los Angeles and grew drawn to roots-tinged bands within that city’s punk scene, sending him cassettes of the Blasters, Rank & File, and the Long Ryders that ignited Vlautin’s passion for their fusion of punk drive and C&W inflection. At sixteen he launched his initial group, yet after several seasons grew frustrated by Reno’s scarce outlets for original material and relocated to Portland, Oregon, in 1994. Shortly afterward he encountered bassist Dave Harding; united by admiration for the Blasters, the Replacements, and Hüsker Dü, the pair enlisted drummer Stuart Gaston to launch Richmond Fontaine’s original configuration. Following local performances, they tracked their debut album, Safety, for Cravedog Records in 1996. Later that year the group reacquired the rights from Cravedog, signed with the larger independent Cavity Search Records, and saw the label reissue Safety, prompting extensive West Coast touring plus excursions to the East and Midwest. In 1997 they cut and issued their second album, Miles From, before embarking on another cross-country trek. By the release of their third album, Lost Son, in 1999, Sean Oldham had taken over drums from Gaston, while pedal-steel guitarist Paul Brainard, already featured on select tracks from Miles From, joined as a permanent member. A live EP, Whiskey, Painkillers & Speed, appeared in 2001, and the following year the quartet finished their fourth album, Winnemucca, issued on the El Cortez label. Post to Wire surfaced in 2004, followed in 2005 by both Fitzgerald and Obliteration by Time. Vlautin’s debut novel, the well-received crime-infused tale of two Reno brothers titled The Motel Life, was published by Faber & Faber in 2006. He balanced literary work with songwriting, delivering Thirteen Cities along with the companion EP $87 & a Guilty Conscience That Gets Worse the Longer I Go in 2007; a full-length concert recording from a 2005 Portland show, Live at the Doug Fir Lounge, also appeared that year. Their next studio effort, 2009’s We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River on El Cortez, contained fourteen tracks centered on the Pacific Northwest. Still on El Cortez, the live set Postcard from Portland: Live at Dantes arrived in 2010, followed in 2011 by the band’s tenth studio album, High Country. A five-year interval preceded their eleventh and final studio album. With Vlautin now established as a novelist—his fourth book, The Free, and a film adaptation of The Motel Life both emerging during the hiatus—and after parting from their label and from Harding (who nevertheless contributed acoustic guitar), the group recruited bassist Freddy Trujillo for the concluding project. Featuring additional guitar from longtime associate Dan Eccles and keyboard work by Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists, You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing to Go Back To revolved around a loose narrative of two cowboy brothers. Described by Vlautin as a somber farewell “about paying the price for the way one’s lived,” it was released by Fluff & Gravy Records in March 2016.
