TROUT STEAK REVIVAL - BRIGHTER EVERY DAY

2015 - Self Released
I have seen the Trout Steak Revival variously described as indie mountain grass, bluegrass, Colorado bluegrass and even jam grass! They are a band, as can be seen from the above, about whom it is difficult to be genre specific and yet all of the above descriptions have their merits. They certainly work within or close to a strain of traditional bluegrass but are far enough away from the mainstream to be referred to as 'indie' and their virtuosity can certainly take them into jam band territory.
The talent contained in this band is quite extraordinary with Steve Foltz playing mandolin and guitar, Casey Houlihan on standup bass, Will Koster plays dobro and guitar, Travis McNamara on banjo and Bevin Foley, fiddle. All band members contribute to the songwriting and all are excellent vocalists, which explains why those harmonies are just so good. The album was produced by Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters, someone who is no stranger to an off centre strain of folksy bluegrass
Stylistically there are so many variations that each band member brings to the group setting thanks to their various geographic roots, and yet generically, thanks to the skills within the band there is a lovely flow to the recording with the excellence of the lead vocals and above all the harmonies being the glue that binds the whole of this excellent album together. This is their second full length recording, the first being 2012s 'Flight,' a recording I have yet to hear, but if it even remotely approaches the quality and variety that we have here, it will be well worth investing in. There is not only great skill in their music but also plenty of fire and passion where it is required, with a nice touch of pathos on the ballads, leading to a lovely diversity that gives their music a certain unique feel. There are no weak links in the playing, and every vocalist seems to have the ability to be lead singer in any other band, with that variety of vocal styles meaning the album could easily appeal on some levels to the 'mainstream' country music world. I say 'on some levels' simply because in smoothing off any rough edges their music is consequently given a wider appeal, although conversely, there is also an often appealing 'edginess' that in turn will appeal to the 'alt. crowd,' of which I am a fully paid up member!
The album opens with the plaintive sound of a banjo on Union Pacific before being joined by a warm vocal and fiddle and some tremendous band harmonies, after which the quality and appeal of this recording never slackens off. Brighter Every Day is another very good song on which each instrument has a solo, linked by the tremendous lead vocal and harmonies, in many ways, exercising the bands virtuosity without being overtly flashy. There is a tremendously atmospheric instrumental in Sierra Nevada led by the lovely sound of banjo, dobro, bass and fiddle, followed by the excellent Pie, a song that really captures the atmosphere of an old time hoedown. Finally, Go On has Bevin Foley's gorgeous feminine vocal to the fore, still with the same excellent harmonies, on a spirited tale of a woman kicking her (soon to be ex) lover out of the door, all supported by the lovely soaring mandolin
Whilst the relatively narrow generic strands that contribute to their music have all been used on numerous occasions over the decades the quality is such that, thanks in the main to the vocals, but also to the varying levels of those strands, the Trout Steak Revival have more than enough about them to be a major success in country music.
http://www.troutsteak.com/
I have seen the Trout Steak Revival variously described as indie mountain grass, bluegrass, Colorado bluegrass and even jam grass! They are a band, as can be seen from the above, about whom it is difficult to be genre specific and yet all of the above descriptions have their merits. They certainly work within or close to a strain of traditional bluegrass but are far enough away from the mainstream to be referred to as 'indie' and their virtuosity can certainly take them into jam band territory.
The talent contained in this band is quite extraordinary with Steve Foltz playing mandolin and guitar, Casey Houlihan on standup bass, Will Koster plays dobro and guitar, Travis McNamara on banjo and Bevin Foley, fiddle. All band members contribute to the songwriting and all are excellent vocalists, which explains why those harmonies are just so good. The album was produced by Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters, someone who is no stranger to an off centre strain of folksy bluegrass
Stylistically there are so many variations that each band member brings to the group setting thanks to their various geographic roots, and yet generically, thanks to the skills within the band there is a lovely flow to the recording with the excellence of the lead vocals and above all the harmonies being the glue that binds the whole of this excellent album together. This is their second full length recording, the first being 2012s 'Flight,' a recording I have yet to hear, but if it even remotely approaches the quality and variety that we have here, it will be well worth investing in. There is not only great skill in their music but also plenty of fire and passion where it is required, with a nice touch of pathos on the ballads, leading to a lovely diversity that gives their music a certain unique feel. There are no weak links in the playing, and every vocalist seems to have the ability to be lead singer in any other band, with that variety of vocal styles meaning the album could easily appeal on some levels to the 'mainstream' country music world. I say 'on some levels' simply because in smoothing off any rough edges their music is consequently given a wider appeal, although conversely, there is also an often appealing 'edginess' that in turn will appeal to the 'alt. crowd,' of which I am a fully paid up member!
The album opens with the plaintive sound of a banjo on Union Pacific before being joined by a warm vocal and fiddle and some tremendous band harmonies, after which the quality and appeal of this recording never slackens off. Brighter Every Day is another very good song on which each instrument has a solo, linked by the tremendous lead vocal and harmonies, in many ways, exercising the bands virtuosity without being overtly flashy. There is a tremendously atmospheric instrumental in Sierra Nevada led by the lovely sound of banjo, dobro, bass and fiddle, followed by the excellent Pie, a song that really captures the atmosphere of an old time hoedown. Finally, Go On has Bevin Foley's gorgeous feminine vocal to the fore, still with the same excellent harmonies, on a spirited tale of a woman kicking her (soon to be ex) lover out of the door, all supported by the lovely soaring mandolin
Whilst the relatively narrow generic strands that contribute to their music have all been used on numerous occasions over the decades the quality is such that, thanks in the main to the vocals, but also to the varying levels of those strands, the Trout Steak Revival have more than enough about them to be a major success in country music.
http://www.troutsteak.com/