The Gage Brothers— Updating Newgrass

There is something different about The Gage Brothers. They cover the bases— folk to gospel to Bluegrass and Newgrass and beyond— and they make it work, but they paint outside the lines of any one genre. They make it work so well that I am not even giving them their cursory ten listens I afford new albums. The first sequence of the opener “All You Are” sealed the deal, the textured lead vocal complementing the smooth vocal harmonies on the chorus. The mix is as much country as it is Newgrass though it is pure Newgrass with a Pop sensitivity. I like it for its lack of overproduction, a hallmark of many Bluegrass vocal groups of today.

Basically, they started out as The Gage Brothers (Ben and Zach), releasing Take It Back not long after paying their dues finding their musical chops. Akron boys make good, right? Wait a minute. The same Akron which produced The Rubber City Rebels, Devo and Tin Huey? Indeed, as far from those bands as they are, they share the same roots. Not long after Take It Back, they teamed up with Cleveland’s Brendan O’Malley (mandolin) and Chris Volpe (banjo) and began putting together the this self-titled project. From duo to band in sixty seconds. Listening to the album has me thinking serendipity. Sometimes, things are just meant to be.

At first listen, the more vocal bluegrass songs captured my ears I love my vocal harmonies. “All You Are,” of course, struck the note. It as much Pop as Bluegrass, but these days I am wont to substitute Pop for Melodic. “I’m So Lonesome” could have been a Seldom Scene song from times past or a retro track from the George Jones catalog, thanks to a beautifully overlayed pedal steel. Some are straight Country (“I’ll Be the One” “Come Home”) and some are Country Rock (“Third Season” “Gone”) and some have Gospel roots, as light as they are (“Auction Block,” a traditional song given Gage Brothers treatment). “Me and Myself” mirrors the Roger Miller/Tom T. Hall school of Country and “Third Season is as close to Americana as I think these guys get. All are solid songs and beautifully performed and produced.

The above videos will give you an idea of the band’s sound. While the whole album is not quite as full of energy as these live versions, they hit their stride on half the songs, easy. You would not want songs like “Auction Block” (they throw in an alternate version too) and “I’m So Lonesome” energized in any way. The energy they exert is more emotional, to soothe the savage beast, if you will.

2017 is turning out to be one hell of a year for music, thank the gods. Last thing I need is to watch the inbred aliens in the White House tear the country apart. I won’t go so far as to call The Gage Brothers antidote but I did notice that my blood pressure dropped significantly while listening. And that is only one reason I like these guys.

Release date:  May 5th.