The Unwieldies - Folly In Melancholy

 

Of course, the Unwieldies are good friends of ours as well as our favorite acoustic combo, so we were sad to see them move to Colorado, but glad to hear that they are thriving there and they put together a new album that has just been released.

Joining Dani (vocals/guitar) and Rob (bass/vocals) this time out is Tim Mallot on dobro and mandolin along with Las Vegas cohort Eric Frommhold on banjo. The Un's lineup has been fluid, with just Dani'n'Rob as the constants, but they always bring in some fine talent to augment their sound.

Of course, their sound is pretty darn unique so difficult to describe, but they call themselves Americana/ Alt-Country (among other descriptors), which is as good as any, but they really just sound like the Unwieldies. Dani's lovely, lilting voice intertwines with Rob's gruffer, but still great, vocals in highly melodic manners and their songs have fab lyrics (always think they should include lyrics with their records) as well as interesting structures, time signatures and tunes.

Both Dani and Rob are prolific songwriters and all of these numbers were written since they moved to CO, so, unlike their other releases, the songs were unfamiliar to me before getting this record. But, if you liked their previous releases, this one will surely hit as well. Dani's voice is, of course, unmistakable, and even with the personnel changes, the backings sound like the Unwieldies! Dobro and banjo are prefect accompaniments for the tunes and the styles. I love the harmonies between Dani'n'Rob, and songs like "Oh Mary O" could be mistaken for a long lost bluegrass number (and it is one of the strongest songs here), while Rob has a habit of self-deprecating lyrics, as in "Liar" or political statements, as in "Washed Clean", and, naturally, there are a number of relationship songs, in their own fashion, like "Honey Do List".

Always high quality writing and performances! Like I said, if you were a fan, you will certainly dig this one and if you haven't heard them, but appreciate acoustic/alt-country/uniqueness, you will want to check this out!