Search - Infamous Stringdusters :: Things That Fly

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J. K. Lowe | Greeneville, TN | 04/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Stringdusters have managed to put out another amazing album in their third release 'Things That Fly'. If you are not familiar with these guys and you are a fan of acoustic music, you have missed the boat! While keeping a traditional bluegrass sound that even the most old school 'grass fan will do backflips over, they are diverse enough to catch the ear of the teenager who is listening to mainstream radio and have yet to figure out what good music is all about. Each member of the sextet is at the top of their game as musicians. From Andy Falco's guitar licks which ranks with the likes of Tony Rice to Jesse Cobb's at times jazz induced mando runs - these guys are both innovators and traditionalists, which is a fine line to walk! Their previous two albums have never fallen out of my CD rotation and I am glad to have another to add to the mix. And as a side note, their live shows have more improvised jams than most Dead shows ever thought about having, yet I see the traditional bluegrass fans at the shows sitting with a look of amazement on their face as the 'Dusters take bluegrass to a new level.



I give the album three thumbs up!"

Forceful contemporary acoustic and bluegrass sounds

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 04/20/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's a power to this sextet's progressive acoustic and bluegrass sounds that leans into the listener like a poke in the chest. The instruments are mostly the standard acoustic assortment, but the verve with which they're picked, and the group's punchy vocal harmonies are heavier than one might expect from a contemporary acoustic outfit. As on their previous self-titled album, the band writes many of their own songs, generally avoids the standard bluegrass canon and stretch their genre with an acoustic reworking of U2's "In God's Country." The latter amplifies the song's force in group harmonies and a propulsive arrangement, but weans it from the original's anthemic emotion. The group's originals weave folk and country sounds with progressive arrangements and hot-picked strings. There are bluegrass intervals in their harmonies, but otherwise their melodies are quite progressive. The instrumental "Magic #9" suggests both - a melody with downtown jazz complications picked on acoustic string instruments from the hills.



The group features three lead vocalists, giving their sound more variety than a bluegrass band with a designated singer. They also welcome Dierks Bentley for a duet cover of Jody Stecher's humorous encounter with a panhandler, "17 Cents." Their new songs contemplate friends and family who are gone but not missing, previous generations whose impact reverberates through the family tree and friends who remain fresh in one's memory. The group's won bluegrass accolades (including several IBMA awards) and releases their CDs on vaunted Sugar Hill label, but there's more here than a recitation of form. The massed voices at the end of "Masquerade" momentarily bring to mind 10cc's "I'm Not in Love," and guitarist Andy Falco pulls things into new directions with the addition of organ and piano. Perhaps most importantly, the group treats studio recording as its own music-making opportunity - rather than a way to document the band's live sound. The vitality of live performance remains, but augmented by studio touches. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]"

Things That Fly

Phillip Smith | Melbourne, Australia | 05/20/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another great album from the Infamous Stringdusters, building on the previous two.

These guys make a great band in addition to being simply brilliant individual players."