It’s been a while since we had a set of Bluegrass albums to review, which is a shame, as it’s a genre with a lot to offer. There are the traditionalists who keep very much to the straight path that has been the bedrock of Bluegrass. Then there are the artists who take those traditions as the jumping-off point for something new and vibrant. It’s exploration and innovation which keep any musical genre fresh, and while mainstream country seems determined to play to the lowest commercial denominator, Bluegrass keeps stretching out.
North Carolina’s Unspoken Tradition have a new single. Rhythm of the Ridge covers many of the bases we expect from a Bluegrass tune, guitar and fiddle solos, over the mandolin’s chugging rhythm. Bassist Sav Sankaran takes the lead vocal on a song written by Milan Miller, who says, “I grew up in an immigrant family and straddling two worlds; the mountains of Appalachia are where I found the inspiration to write my American story. It feels timely to tell a story of grounding ideals and identity in a time where external forces attempt to rend us further away from each other.”
Square Peg must be one of the most common band names of all time. This Square Peg is an English duo comprising Nick Pimbert (banjo, fiddle, guitar, vocals) and Emily Johnson (guitar, fiddle, banjo, vocals). They are very much in the old-time Appalachian tradition. The single Cindy is a high-speed romp, as are many of the songs featured on their self-titled album. Singing in harmony or individually, they have a unique quality. They save the best song until last with A Few More Seasons.
Colorado quartet Big Richard “make music for the 21st century’s twisted cultural unease.” Their latest album, Pet, was recorded live to tape in order to capture the fervour of their live shows. Their bluesy version of Bluegrass is highlighted on Millionaire, a David Olney song about greed and corruption, given a strident makeover. The 4 women of Big Richard take the string band tradition and remake it in an unapologetically outrageous fashion. They can also incorporate jazzy elements in songs like Holy Holy. Pet is an album which strikes sparks with every song. As Cellist Joy Adams says, they wanted “to do something that’s very real and gritty and has little mistakes in it, just feels alive and human.”
New Valley String Band are a Swedish trio stretching the boundaries of Old Timey and Bluegrass by blending it with Nordic folk. Opening their latest album Of Tales and Lies with two traditional pieces, Hell and Scissors/Waltz after Niklas Isackson sets the scene for the rest of the record. They mix original songs into American tunes like Wild and Reckless Hobo, first recorded in 1925, and Jag haver ingen kärare, a Swedish love song. The band comprises Lukas Lindberg on banjo and fiddle, Michael Nyberg on guitar and Adam Bülow on fiddle, with all three contributing vocals. The songwriters Lindberg and Bülow have produced new material which complements the older songs, giving the album a harmony of style. The spare arrangements of each song give plenty of space for the tunes to breathe.
