Bearfoot are a young American band who have made a name for themselves occupying similar ‘new acoustic’ grounds as contemporaries Nickel Creek and Joy Kills Sorrow, in that they play traditional bluegrass/folk instrumentation but have a forward looking progressive attitude to the material and arrangements, and they cover a broad range of American roots music.
Like their contemporaries, Bearfoot are made up of a mixture of stellar musicians who present their songs with beautiful vocals and tight harmonies over a musical backdrop of guitar, violins, mandolin and double bass, with extra musical colour added by percussion, banjo and accordion. It’s a traditional American string band line-up, but presented in way that nods to the tradition but sounds thoroughly contemporary.
The quintet originally formed in Alaska, have been around for the last 5 years, but a move to Compass Records in 2009, and a subtle line-up change has really paid dividends for the group, and this album is perfectly positioned to make appeal to a new generation of traditional music fans.
Focused around Nora Jane Struthers’ clear and distinctive vocals, the album crosses styles taking in bluegreass, country, pop and old-time genres over the course of the 10 songs that make up ‘American Story’
Track listing
1 Tell Me a Story
2 Feel Free
3 Midnight in Montana
4 The Dust
5 Come Get Your Lonesome
6 When You're Away
7 Eyes Cast Down
8 Kill the Rooster
9 Billy
10 Mr Moonshine
review 04 October 2011
