Coffee & Cake
Mountain Home, 2020
8/10
Perhaps best known as the mandolin player in Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, here Mark Stoffel releases his debut for Mountain Home Music Company and his first solo effort in a decade. An all instrumental affair, Stoffel takes help from friends and colleagues, as they turn in 13 bluegrass friendly compositions.
“Shadowbands” starts the listen with highly melodic string acrobatics in the bluegrass opening, and “Driving Me Madnoin” follows with intricate picking in a playful and very complicated delivery of progressive dynamics.
Closer to the middle, the title track moves with gorgeous restraint as the instruments quiver with warmth, while “The Old Mountaineer” is a more firm execution of busy instrumentation that soars with rural beauty. “Ying Yang”, one of the album’s best, the moves gently, with sublime musicianship amid soothing melodies.
Deeper into the record, “Woody’s Rag/Night Driver’s Rag” moves with a country spirit that’s elegant, and “In The Mood” exits the listen with a clever interpretation that’s bouncy, imaginative and a whole lot of fun.
An exciting, frisky and very seamless outing, Stoffel sprinkles some jazz and newgrass moments into his song craft, and it helps make Coffee & Cake an extremely joyful venture that would be impossible not to admire.
Travels well with: Fireside Collective- Elements; Sideline- Breaks To The Edge