New Bluegrass: Outlaw Family Band's Outlaw Family Band

File under AltCountry Surf Rock Bluegrass.

The Outlaw Family Band puts out a sound that hearkens back to the Appalachian Hills (bluegrass), the Central Valley (Neil Young), the Ozarks (Uncle Tupelo et. al.), and Santa Cruz (surf’s up).

Their self-titled disc was released a year ago, but a book/DVD, Ride of Our Lives—Roadside Lessons of an American Family, released later this month features their music.

Last year’s disc opens with an AltCountry intro section to “Queen of Desire” that is only a hint of the things to come. When the song actually kicks in, there’s banjo bluegrass with train track trap rhythm and a wah-wah guitar solo out of some Classic Rock radio station static. Like Jonathan Rundman and Beki Hemmingway’s Tennesota, “Birchmont Hotel” is an exploration of bluegrass through a two-step, downtrodden blues.

As Mark Corsolini’s drums welcome a new rhythm for “Caroline,” the Outlaw Family Band take a Squirrel Nut Zippers approach to a swing fiddle tune that channels the spirit of Stephen Foster (much as the Squirrel Nut Zippers do on Perennial Favorites). While traditional bluegrass doesn’t include drums, Corsolini’s drums are one of the cohesive elements to OFB’s unique sound. The acoustics on this recording make the drums sound as if they were recorded in an old church on the main square of some antebellum town. Those acoustics add to the sepia-toned dust that is getting brushed off in the rocking going on.

Where 16 Horsepower also explore a New Bluegrass sound taking a turn towards the dark Swans tone, OFB touch that higher-toned indie rock sound. “Ravenswood Getaway (Part 1)” is a bluegrass rock country stomp with members trading solos on this instrumental named after a street in the band’s hometown of Chicago.

The epic tale of “Waste of Time” is where the Neil Young comparison comes center stage. It’s a Southern Rock blues with some help coming down from those Eastern hills and hollers.

Thank you to the Outlaw Family Band, Slackjaw Records and Hapi Skratch Entertainment for the review copy.