Imaginary Lines
Mountain Home, 2022
9/10
The Western North Carolina bluegrass wizards Unspoken Tradition return with perhaps some of their best work to date, where time off from touring due to the pandemic allowed them to pen 6 singles that charted.
“Carolina And Tennessee” opens the listen with warm acoustic guitar and gorgeous singing, as swift banjo enters the radiant landscape, and “Irons In The Fire” continues the fluid song craft with a very bright and melodic display of fiddle acrobatics and soaring vocal harmonies.
Halfway through, “California” trims the pace back with an intimate and introspective climate, while “The Old Swinging Bridge” glides with a timeless bluegrass spirit that meshes the strings with incredible fluidity.
Close to the end, “Bounty Hunter” moves with a darker spirit, where vivid storytelling is met with both tense moments and grace, and “Lookout Montain” exits the listen with rich musicianship and soothing vocals that truly illustrate how well these 5 artists work together.
Saravanan ‘Sav’ Sankaran (bass, vocals), Audie McGinnis (guitar, vocals), Zane McGinnis (banjo), Ty Gilpin (mandolin) and Tim Gardner (fiddle, vocals) make up the quintet, and their collective skill makes for some of the best modern bluegrass that exists today.
Travels well with: Jaelee Roberts- Something You Didn’t Count On; Tray Wellington- Black Banjo