Town Mountain, Freedom Blues Review
Town Mountain is a bluegrass band that has a country overtone all wrapped up and served with a fresh moving, genre rooted manner. The music has plenty of swagger to keep your interest and enough influence to keep you wondering what’s next. The bands songwriting, singing and playing can take on hues of: honky-tonk edge, country, old school rock ‘n’ roll, and boogie-woogie. Town Mountain features guitarist and vocalist Robert Greer, banjoist Jesse Langlais, mandolinist Phil Barker, fiddler Bobby Britt, and Zach Smith on bass. They have a new album out, their sixth studio album, titled New Freedom Blues, which is a collection of eleven tunes that exemplify their honest, vintage flavor, mixed with new sound. That’s the short it!
Positives:
Their songwriting is memorable, with various feels and styles presented on the album. The vocals offer depth of emotion and the harmonies are solid. The playing is energetic, and the solos are melodic and based resolutely in the bluegrass tradition.
Bottom Line:
Town Mountain has earned raves for their hard-driving sound and they have captured that magic on their eleven-track album New Freedom Blues. The music reflects the group's wide-ranging influences but always keeps in focus with a bluegrass undercurrent. Town Mountain is not afraid to push the boundaries, by adding drums on some tracks, which only enhances the grass-country sound. New Freedom Blues features several guest artists including Tyler Childers, who co-wrote one of the songs, Miles Miller (Sturgill Simpson, drummer), and other musical friends. Beautifully recorded and produced the impressive musicianship and comradery is evident from the first listen.