Elements
Mountain Home, 2020
8/10
The Asheville, North Caroline outfit Fireside Collective are certainly well versed in bluegrass and folks sounds, but the quintet don’t shy away from roots rock or even funk nods in their varied and precise formula on this debut for the Mountain Home Music Company.
After the atmospheric “Intro” leads the album, “Winding Road” unleashes soaring vocal harmonies and lively bluegrass sounds that overflow with melody and grooves, and the picking acrobatics of “Back To Caroline” follow right after.
Further along, “Bring It On Home” gets playful and shows beautiful restraint with some funk for good measure, while “Waiting For Tennessee” soars high with a timeless appeal and contagious energy. “Don’t Stop Loving Me”, one of the album’s best, then moves with a soulful quality amid plenty of rural melodies.
Closer to the end, “She Was An Angel” offers some of the best vocal harmonies on the album, and “Winding Road Reprise” finishes the listen with a calmer interpretation, that’s no less powerful in its meticulous execution.
A band where all 5 members possess incredible skill, each one illustrates their respective skill in spades on this very progressive version of bluegrass that’s impossible not to enjoy.
Travels well with: Sideline- Breaks To The Edge; Balsam Range- The Gospel Collection