2017 - Those who like their acoustic music on the “ avant garde” side can explore this attractively packaged outing by some of today’s “hot” young pickers. Making up the band on this issue are Andy Falco, Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (dobro), and Travis Book (bass). Songs are all newer material by such writers as Jon Weisberger and Becky Buller, among others. An insert contains the words to all the songs (though somehow we can’t visualize any of these becoming “parking lot” favorites). Musically, the Stringdusters aren’t expanding the string band boundaries here. Rather they rely on a faithful lineup of unplugged guitar, fiddle, stand-up bass, banjo and dobro to set these originals in motion. Rugged vocal harmonies also push the songs along, but it’s the melodies of tracks such as the introspective “Soul Searching,” perhaps the disc’s thematic centerpiece, that advance the Stringdusters a few steps ahead of the competition.
13 Songs
- FREEDOM
- GRAVITY
- A HARD LIFE MAKES A GOOD SONG
- VERTIGO
- MAXWELL
- BLACK ELK
- THIS OL' BUILDING
- SOUL SEARCHING
- 1901: A CANYON ODYSSEY
- SIRENS
- BACK HOME
- LET ME KNOW
- I RUN TO YOU
