Solid Roots, Polished Sound
Ricky Mier
Posted On January 8, 2016
With solid traditional bluegrass roots, country-esque vocals, and a hyper-polished studio sound, The Grascals define the mash bluegrass subgenre. The Grascals’ bluegrass is textbook. They showcase great kickoffs, well rooted solos, polite yet aggressive backup licks, buttery smooth vocal harmonies and arrangements true to how Bill did it.
They’ve got solid bluegrass songwriting. Songs about love, nostalgia of home, heartbreak, and death. The message in their song “A Place To Hang My Hat” especially struck me. It’s essentially about being okay with death, but the way it’s said is simple, deep, and poetic.
Their song “Road Of Life” has John Hartford influences. It’s got a really beautiful melody with a message saying, to me, no matter what happens good or bad, everything will be fine if you maintain forward motion. As a guy dedicated to a growth mindset, I endorse that message.
I must say though, a group filled with such high caliber instrumentalists and expert improvisers could better capture their mastery and arrangement creativity.
If they played more instrumentals, these high caliber master improvisers could capture their virtuosity and arrangement creativity in a different light. I get that focusing on songs gives one the widest possible audience but like the musicians in this band, I’m a guy who has dedicated his life to instrumental mastery. I’m a visceral listener and I want to feel the depths of these player’s craft. Because this album is so polished I feel like I’m listening to the most popular and acceptable variations of licks coming from the players and thus I’m only witnessing the tip of the iceberg with these guys. I challenge them to create some music that’s a little more outside the bluegrass idiom to make a more original stamp with their craft.
All in all, this album has great rhythmic and vocal contrast from track to track along with a definitive mash sound. I really hope to see these guys at a festival to witness their improv and hopefully pick a tune with them because I’m blown away by their music.
