Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	A
Mojo
NME	8/10
PopMatters	9/10
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Village Voice	C+

Trace is the first album by Son Volt, released in 1995. The band was formed the previous year by Jay Farrar after the breakup of the influential alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. The album reached #166 on the Billboard 200 album chart and received extremely favorable reviews. According to Allmusic, "Throughout Son Volt's debut, Trace, the group reworks classic honky tonk and rock & roll, adding a desperate, determined edge to their performances. Even when they rock out, there is a palpable sense of melancholy to Farrar's voice, which lends a poignancy to the music." The album was in the top 10 of Rolling Stone's 1995 critics' list.

"Drown" was a minor college and rock radio hit. It charted at #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It remains their only single to land on either of the charts.

All of the songs were written by Farrar except "Mystifies Me", written by Ronnie Wood.

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