I was fortunate enough to catch the quintet that is Twisted Pine this weekend…but not in our native Boston land. A land that is foreign and strange. One that in unfamiliar to us here in teh Bean…Long Island. Ok, not so strange and we have some good music family down that way in Heartstrings magazine and other LI acts on that bill in Bill Scorzari and Butcher’s Blind. To say that the bluegrass group impressed, I tell you, that my friends in an understatement and a half.
The band takes traditional bluegrass and applies often Punch Brothers-esque arrangements and incredible, high flying feats of virtuosity to their playing style. New grass, chamber grass, call it what you will it is infectious and exciting. Drawing out arrangements to include some incredible playing and rousing solo trade-offs between rich and gorgeous harmonies. Each member of the band is a talent to be reckoned with and the sum of those forces, well that is something even more brilliant.
The length may not be the case with our track of the week in “White House Blues” coming in just under two and a half minutes, but taking the arrangement to another level with impressive mandolin runs, soaring fiddle, and a vocal that screams tradition but begs you to dig deeper and find something more. And that banjo, man..woo-wee. Check it out and check the band out. They are in the midst of recording a brand new EP to compliment a slightly new line up and some great new tunes.