A line up to get bluegrass fans salivating. On the other hand if you have yet to dip your toe into the deep well of this timeless artform, then the self-titled album from this 'jam for all seasons' could just be the entry point. Mighty Poplar live up to the name, at least in the first part. Noam Pikelny and Chris Eldridge hone their craft in the Punch Brothers. while Andrew Marlin does similar in Watchhouse. Alex Hargreaves plays fiddle with Billy Strings and to complete the line up bassist Greg Garrison enforces the rhythm with Leftover Salmon. Names and associations are one thing; tuning into the magical sounds emanating from this collaboration lay the wares on the table for all to savour.
Across a joyous forty-two minutes Mighty Poplar toy with, celebrate and fine tune works from well known names such as Bob Dylan, Carter Family, Leonard Cohen and Martha Scanlan, among bluegrass classics and standards. Ten songs and tunes get the utmost respect and are decorated with gorgeous spins of mandolin, guitar, banjo and fiddle. Each instrument combines the role of allowing each other to flourish alongside joining together to fire a sound that pre-dates the bluegrass brand by at least a century. All while polishing it for future preservation.
Resistance to tapping any parts of your extremities evaporates as you dive into the stringed riches that ring in superlatives starting with virtuoso and dance down the road of the immaculate pick. Vocals parts add to the narrative and politely step aside when highly crafted musicianship requests undivided attention. The rhythm sways and purports to a contrasting scene of moods generating from a range of tempo and pace. All this ensures the finished product glitters in bluegrass gold for tuned in ears.
MIGHTY POLAR is a mighty fine album to fire up the acoustic passion of American roots fans and those of contemporary musicians in less generic fields who are influenced by strummed and picked music as pure as the mountain stream it evokes. These guys are likely to not hang around too long in such a spontaneous set up. With that in mind they have left a little flavour of what was conjured up from the mother of all bluegrass jams. It would be remiss not to give it a little nudge in the right direction. A few nudges will be all this album requires to gain traction down the far reaching Americana highway.
