Slipped Discs

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Reviews From: bluegrass
Wilders - Someone’s Got to Pay

Wilders - Someone’s Got to Pay

Wilders
Someone’s Got to Pay
Label: Free Dirt

From hoedowns to honky-tonks, the Wilders’ commando jams swing through toe-tapping tempests and last call melancholy. Somber, fuel-injected traditions and snazzy, twang-filled philosophy highlight “Pay” with big returns on the listener’s investment as real-life murder ballads meet slammin’ solos of fiddle and dobro. The Wilders hit Madison’s High Noon April 16th.

The Wilders Website

Hoots And Hellmouth
 - The Holy Open Secret

Hoots And Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret

Hoots And Hellmouth
The Holy Open Secret
Label: Mad Dragon Records

Delivering rollicking honky-tonk, twisted mountain music jive and sweetly impassioned ballads, Hoots’ tight, bluegrass flashes and funky country-gospel revivalism weave traditional pickin’ through omnipresent social issues to produce relevant, toe-tapping Americana. “Holy,” rolls foot stompin’ razzamatazz around ironclad narratives shouting out injustices, suspended by suspicions and slathered in talented fretwork.

Hoots And Hellmouth Website

Curtis Harvey - Box of Stones

Curtis Harvey - Box of Stones

Curtis Harvey
Box of Stones
Label: Fat Cat Records

Gently genuine, the congenial, nimble-fingered troubadour whose multi-instrumental skills also include a talent for understated lyrics parlays a childhood affection for bluegrass to fuel his long-awaited solo debut with rich, melodic charms. “Box,” crafts tightly-woven tomes offering immediate relief, imposing subtly constructed rocking chair thoughts to crisp, swinging, altogether calming, fireside desires.

Curtis Harvey Website

Mittens On Strings - Let’s Go To Baba’s

Mittens On Strings - Let’s Go To Baba’s

Mittens On Strings
Let’s Go To Baba’s
Label: Soungs Records

A veritable garden of quirky curiosities, existential wit and literate kismet, “Baba’s,” boasts both gray, no wave guitar psychedelia harvesting lofty, alt-Goth waltzes and banjo, cello and mandolin spiking pastoral, prog-rock rodeos. MoS’s smirking, earnest grandeur merges into democratic genre-jumping offering sentimental laments and mocking double-talk, deadpan stanzas and granola-soaked anecdotes.

Mittens On Strings Website

Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend

Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend

Dave Rawlings Machine
A Friend of a Friend
Label: Acony Records

Assembling a crackerjack team including long-time collaborator Gillian Welch, revivalist and raconteur Rawlings picks and fiddles contemporary Dust Bowl bluegrass. Toe-tapping happiness grazing cautionary tales, “Friend,” renders and remembers faith-based fables and gospel-flavored shotgun swan songs. Train yard bards shooting the breeze, DRM play Madison’s High Noon Saloon Dec 7th.

Dave Rawlings Machine WebsiteDave Rawlings Machine Wiki

Southeast Engine - Canary

Southeast Engine - Canary

Southeast Engine
Canary
Label: Misra

Penitent and persevering, rowdy and reverent, SEE’s gurgling Wurlitzers and Delta-bound brass rile rustic ruckus for relapsed travails, electrified revivalists fronting frontier racketeers, recasting tragic burdens into grizzled, gratifying honky-tonk. A ragged tabernacle, “Canary,” canvasses unflappable affirmations etched in mournful cornfields, barnyard brimstone and boardwalk morality; rousing rust belt ballads conjuring coal mines and cold spells, bad luck and love-sickness.

Southeast Engine WebsiteSoutheast Engine FacebookSoutheast Engine Wiki

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplane

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplane

Alison Krauss and Union Station
Paper Airplane
Label: Rounder

Slow country waltzes court tranquil restraint bathed in tender nuance and worldly-wise meandering. Alison and her classy, Grammy-winning mavericks, Union Station reunite to unravel talented toe-tapping tapestries tastefully tethered and graciously plaited like sunshine on crystal streams. Soothing and lucid, “Paper,” embraces lean times and troubled souls combating the sadness with rich, picturesque refrains, welcoming harmonies and unrepentantly sentimental renderings.

Alison Krauss and Union Station WebsiteAlison Krauss and Union Station FacebookAlison Krauss and Union Station Wiki

Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest

Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest

Gillian Welch
The Harrow and the Harvest
Label: Acony Records

Despair transported through compassionate salvation, Gillian‘s crisp blues-baked biscuits feed the soul while easing tired bones and weary hearts. Resonant and refined, “Harrow,” embellishes wisely, speaking volumes in rich bluegrass tapestries overlaid in subtle Celtic runs and casual country-jazz licks. Impeccable Dustbowl Americana lovingly embraced, “Harvest,” trims tradition, updating with sharp, unvarnished vision.  Gillian plays Madison’s Capitol Theater July 21st.

Gillian Welch WebsiteGillian Welch FacebookGillian Welch Wiki

Brown Bird - Salt for Salt

Brown Bird - Salt for Salt

Brown Bird
Salt for Salt
Label: Supply & Demand

Somber and sensual, brisk gypsy jigs saw bluesy two-steps and woodsy rocking-chair tattletales conjuring back-porch baptisms from sawdust dance-floors. The East Coast duo’s raspy pluck, rosin-heavy flights and twisted tempos season blackwater stomps. Boosted by devilish bravado, “Salt,” bows and curtsey, bone-thin and thirsty, packing galloping insights into gossip-bound ghost stories, wily waltzes where goblin gauchos prance, scamper and canter.

Brown Bird WebsiteBrown Bird Facebook

Nanci Griffith - Intersection

Nanci Griffith - Intersection

Nanci Griffith
Intersection
Label: Thirty Tigers

Uncovering long-forgotten gems and producing rousing originals, feisty folk-singer, troubadour humanist and starry-eyed archivist Griffith reflects pro-actively, learning from spurned lovers and turning everyday adversity into affirming portrayals of grass-roots salvation. Respect and regret mingle in sing-along story-songs strong in sympathy, social conscience and down-trodden decency, “Intersection,” questions countless doubts and nurtures worthy mercies, touching lives and trusting in people.

Nanci Griffith WebsiteNanci Griffith FacebookNanci Griffith Wiki

The Deadly Gentlemen - Roll Me, Tumble Me

The Deadly Gentlemen - Roll Me, Tumble Me

The Deadly Gentlemen
Roll Me, Tumble Me
Label: Rounder

Vibrant and resourceful, TDG’s traditional blue-grass line-up revel in elaborate narratives, scene-stealing playfulness and folk-rock leanings, the wistfully twisted Boston quintet’s runaway-train changes pit brisk riffs against unstoppable chops as each member’s voice gathers steam unleashing serene harmonies.  Peppered in tasty jam-band grand-slamming, “Roll,” coasts in casual one-upmanship; quietly providing a spidery drive to dive-bombing romps double-dipped in top-tapping happiness.

The Deadly Gentlemen WebsiteThe Deadly Gentlemen Facebook

Run Boy Run - Something to Someone

Run Boy Run - Something to Someone

Run Boy Run
Something to Someone
Label: Sky Island Records

A jaw-dropping combination of Gaelic bluegrass and mountaintop chamber-folk the Arizona quintet’s fiddles, mandolins, cello, bass and guitars borrow from history-rich traditions to foster a scholarly hodgepodge underwritten in moonshine and molasses. Led by strong female harmonies and nimble pickin’, “Something,” skips past rootsy troubadours to branch into torch-song confidants sauntering in enchanting shanties, worldly-wise Americana and twinkling Texas swing.

Run Boy Run WebsiteRun Boy Run FacebookRun Boy Run Wiki