Gentle but served up with enough urgency to get us excited about the climactic chorus, the groove in “She’s Gone Gone Gone” definitely represents one of my favorite characteristics found in the new album Bluegrass DNA from outlaw bluegrass player Tim Graves and his band the Farm Hands; juxtaposition and balance. No matter what the tempo might be, or the tonal presence of the instrumentation beside him, Graves is a constant beacon of discipline amidst a chapter in bluegrass history that has been riddled with overindulgence on all fronts. His efficiency won my heart for sure, but his harmonious vocal made this debut album one of my new favorites this year.
“Branded Wherever I Go,” “Gonna Be Raining When I Die,” and “Apple Tree” are some of the more rebellious tunes on this LP, but I wouldn’t say that any of them step into self-centeredness as Graves attempts to unravel every part of his life behind the mic. From the dirty to the clean, “Banjo Signal” to “Pain in My Heart,” he’s pretty relentless in his efforts to rip apart his psyche with a lot of these verses, while in some instances – such as “When the Vow Breaks” and “Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler” – he speaks almost metaphorically as if to make his lyrics an outlet for commentary whilst still telling us something personal about his own experiences.
Okay, so it’s obvious that multidimensionality is a staple element in Tim Graves’s artistry – but when it comes to tonal expressiveness, particularly within the context of how a lot of bucolic singer/songwriters in America have approached it, this artist does exceptionally well. Simply put, he never fails to utilize the tools in front of him, including the Farm Hands; in “Drinking My Baby Goodbye,” it might be a plodding tone, or a white-hot juxtaposition of strings in “The Bluebird Singing for Me,” with his soulful vocal acting as the glue holding all of the loose ends together. The instrumentation tells us one-half of the story here while the lyrics colorize the melody there, yielding a robust product in every instance.
Almost all of these songs are stylized as single-quality recordings, and I like that Graves made the smart move of leaving filler off the table altogether in this LP. In 2023, I’ve encountered a lot of bluegrass players who haven’t been able to resist throwing a little bit of theatrical nonsense into the tracklist of their work, but by putting nothing but muscularity into this album, we get a lot better idea about who this singer/songwriter is and what he wants to make in the studio.
Whether you’re a big fan of bluegrass music or simply like a good melody from an organic source, I recommend giving Bluegrass DNA a spin this February. Tim Graves is one of the few bluegrass musicians I’ve reviewed out of the underground with a strong sense of independence behind his band’s concepts, but while he’s a long way from the insular recording studios of Nashville, which could wind up being more of a benefit than a curse as he asserts himself as a true individual with this music.
Chadwick Easton