Ashby Frank

Run This Town

Mountain Home, 2026

9/10

Listen to Run This Town

The mandolinist and vocalist Ashby Frank bings us a diverse bluegrass effort, where 13 tracks unfold with an all star cast by his side.

“Run This Town” opens with Ashby’s flowing mandolin and soaring vocals amid the quick bluegrass melodies, and “She Believes” follows with Jim VanCleve’s warm fiddle that suits the intimate mood and heartfelt singing.

Residing in the middle, Seth Taylor’s warm guitar aligns with Steve Hinson’s radiant pedal steel across the rhythmic “Valerie”, while the title track benefits from Tony Creasman’s fluid drums via the soft and cozy duet.

“God Gave Me Horses” and “The Pretender” exit the record. The former showcases Matt Menefee’s meticulous banjo that aligns with a lush and layered album highlight, and the latter, a Foo Fighters’ cover, sees Frank and company putting a mountain-esque spin on the rocker with incredible detail.

Frank and his company cover a lot of territory here, where rock, country and pop are touched upon under his timeless and inimitable brand of bluegrass.

Travels well with: Vickie Vaughn- Travel On; Unspoken Tradition- Resilience

Guest Directors

Dream The Currents

Topsy, 2019

9/10

Listen to Dream The Currents

Another thriving Seattle outfit, this 3rd EP from Guest Directors is chocked full of rhythm, reverb and plenty of sonic beauty amid a shoegazey and gritty pop setting, where each track embraces nostalgic, timeless and captivating musicianship.

After the shimmering and hazy opener “Parachute On” leads with plenty of melody and swirling guitar work, '“For A Day” heads right into ‘90s influenced college rock, where intricate drumming and an intense but calculated approach quickly reel us in as lifelong fans of the quartet.

The last 3 tunes are just as enchanting, with the lengthy, nearly prog-rockish “Minor Mendings” that pokes and prods with moody and tense variations of blues and post-rock, and the punchy alt-rock of “Where You Belong”, where post-punk ideas reside and are executed flawlessly. The quick listen ends on “Twinkle, Twinkle Bete Noire” as power and melody unfold with much sophistication.

A very accomplishing outing, the tunes here all embrace dream-pop, psyche-pop and the adventurous side of indie-rock in the most mature ways, and the only real flaw to be found is that 5 tracks from Guest Directors is just not enough. An LP, please?

Travels well with: Teenage Fanclub- Bandwagonesque; Sloan- The Double Cross