Strength in Numbers - Telluride Sessions

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Free Music Notes for Telluride Sessions

Free Music Review: Collaborative acoustic brilliance
Hit: 5 Stars

Ok, ok, on with the music. It's rooted in bluegrass, but the scope of such talent never stays limited to one simple label. There are a couple instances of branching out into different genres, as in one track that bizarrely marries a Scottish reel to a reggae beat. (I'll leave which one it is open to guessing, on the chance that the title "Lochs of Dread" isn't already a dead giveaway.) Though the compositions shift through several styles and modes, there's an inevitable country twang to everything due to the instrumental lineup: banjo, mandolin, dobro, bass and violin. If you shudder at the mention of those and are scared by mental images of flannel-swamped barn dances, then this definitely isn't for you. You might still enjoy the serenely entrancing "One Winter's Night," but I never recommend buying an album just for one track.

So what else is there? "Macedonia" is modern country taken with a Celtic tinge and a classical approach, still remaining danceable and bursting with energy. "Slopes" starts turning up the tempo into an acoustic frenzy that never loses its beauty, and it's only taken further in the avalanche-like buildup of "Blue Men of the Sahara." Don't be fooled by the easy-slow meandering intro. Before that track is over it'll reach a frenzied peak of hyper insanity before careening off into gentle silence.

This isn't a release for everyone (although I've pleasantly surprised several people who swore they'd always hate bluegrass), but I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who already has an interest in the genre. It's a good next step for those just getting interested, perhaps through the 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' phenomenon or the emergence of younger bands like Nickel Creek. For anyone in either of those categories, this is something you won't want to miss.

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