Perhaps as textured as it is agile and full of sonic vitality, “Goin’ to Bring Her Back” is absolutely one of the most exciting songs to be heard on Appalachian Road Show’s Tribulation LP. Experimenting with classical themes within Americana and bluegrass – as well as a litany of other influences – Appalachian Road Show break off some of the season’s most intriguing pastoral melodies thus far in their latest release. With sixteen tracks, most of which contain enthralling music mixed with storytelling in a classic mountain-folk style, Tribulation isn’t lacking in ambition; to be frank, the only thing missing from this record is unwanted fat (and that’s always a positive attribute in my book).
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There are a lot of influences in play in this album that go well beyond the obvious. “Tribulations” aches with a folky element that is also found in the lead vocal of “99 Years and One Dark Day,” but I wouldn’t call either of these two songs anything other than bluegrass jams through and through. “Beneath That Willow Tree” stomps harder than the lone voice occupying “Gospel Train,” yet both of these tracks seem aesthetically inseparable when played back to back in the same sitting. There’s a strange continuity to this LP that you can’t generate artificially, and that alone makes it a worthwhile listen this month.
I would be really curious to know the origin story behind Appalachian Road Show’s deciding to include “Sales Tax on the Women,” “Wish the Wars Were All Over” and the shivering gospel wails of “Rev. Jasper Davis – Old Time Preaching on Tribulations” in this most recent studio dispatch. These three moments have a deep-stinging personality when considered alongside the other material on Tribulation, and I walked away from my first listening session with the album feeling like these were some of the most telling – and surreally intimate – excerpts to be heard here.
Nothing could ever steal away the spotlight from the strings in the instrumental salvo “The Appalachian Road,” “Hard Times Come Again No More” and gentle civil war ballad “Goin’ Across the Mountain.” Whether you’re a musician or just a devoted bluegrass fan, trying to resist the seductiveness of this LP’s instrumental prowess is just about impossible once you’ve heard it for the first time. Tribulation makes it difficult to deny the chemistry between these players, and more importantly, the clear advantage they have over the competition in their genre today.
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Fans of that special countrified swing found only in the most coveted corners of the American south can’t go wrong with the new album from Appalachian Road show this May. Led by a group of musicians who have obviously spent the better part of their lives as students of the bluegrass school, Tribulation is an LP that will stir a reaction out of even the most discriminating of critics and fans. You needn’t afford its sixteen tracks much more than a cursory listen to understand why folks have taken to this project’s sound as much as they have, but for legit enthusiasts, one spin will likely not be enough.
Clay Burton