The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters
Sugar Hill
Continuing their success with 2007’s Fork in the Road, the Infamous Stringdusters have burned a deeper trail with a sophomore self-titled album full of compelling, gritty, contemporary vignettes of pain, addiction, and relationships, and blended it with equally formidable songwriting. It doesn’t get any more moving than the eerie last line of “When Silence is the Only Sound,” as Jeremy Garrett (vocals) regretfully croons in a somber whimper, “he sits in the dark/ double scotch in his hand.”
The Nashville-based three-piece merges bluegrass and classic country tunes of lonesome storytelling, and even travels lonely roads back to 1861 with “Three Days in July.” The album – full of blazing banjos, purring pianos, and meaty mandolin work – was produced by Tim O’Brien and recorded in January and does have the feel, as the Stringdusters explain in their press release, “of a group of players that have truly gelled and become a band.” It doesn’t appear that the sophomore jinx has had any effect on the boys after Fork in the Road was nominated for multiple international bluegrass awards. Their label, Sugar Hill, is clearly trying its hardest, and succeeding, at producing a strong army of bluegrass to keep the stringdustin’ storytelling vibe alive and thriving in the 21st century.
The Infamous Stringdusters: http://www.thestringdusters.com
