Front Country - Sake of the Sound (2014)

Tracklist

01. Gospel Train
02. One Kind Word
03. Rock Salt & Nails
04. Sake of the Sound
05. Daysleeper
06. Undertaker
07. Glacier Song
08. Like a River
09. Old Country
10. Colorado
11. Long Ago, Far Away
12. Lovin's for Fools


From the first notes of “Gospel Train,” as Melody Walker's soaring voice entwines around the phrase “I woke up with heaven on my mind,” you’ll hear that Front Country isn’t your usual bluegrass band. When the fiddle and distorted acoustic guitar come crashing into the song like roaring waves, rushing back and forth with swelling ferocity, you’ll know that this is bluegrass unleashed, American roots music that refuses to be constrained. Each song on the album points to traditional influences, but it’s clear that Front Country views these traditions as a launching pad for grander explorations. On their highly anticipated debut full-length album, Sake of the Sound, Front Country blends everything from high-lonesome mountain music to new-wave power pop, newgrass picking, oldgrass harmonies, and just plain glorious musicality. This is Americana at its best: music with deep roots and wide-ranging vision.

Coming out of the San Francisco Bay Area’s red-hot roots music scene, Front Country first made waves with a rare double band competition win at both the Telluride and Rockygrass music festivals. Following national tours and invites to prestigious events like Wintergrass and IBMA, anticipation has been mounting for their debut full-length album. Wanting to create something that pushed their sound even further, Front Country recruited renowned instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter Kai Welch (Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck) to produce Sake of the Sound. With Welch at the helm, Front Country were able to unite their many far-reaching musical influences and inspirations and do credit to their electrifying live show.

The songs on the new album are sourced from all across the Americana spectrum (Utah Philips, Bob Dylan, Kate Wolf), but each cover brings a fresh, new perspective. New songwriters like Nashville scribe Sarah Siskind or Laura Wortman of The Honey Dewdrops bring powerful songs as well, but Front Country truly shines when the original songs of lead singer Melody Walker give them room to flex. The chilling “Undertaker” is an apocalyptic metaphor for rampant consumerism. “Colorado” is a gorgeously crafted showcase to both Walker’s voice and the understated power of each instrumentalist in Front Country. Melody’s songs draw out Front Country’s furthest reaching interests in music. Her title song “Sake of the Sound”, a song about the rapture of music set in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, references Michael Jackson or U2 as easily as progressive bluegrass bands like Crooked Still or The Punch Brothers. With a global span of interests, and world-class talent, it's no wonder Front Country’s bluegrass sounds like it was born in a new century.

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