Infamous Stringdusters - Self-Titled

On their second album, Infamous Stringdusters take the reigns from their debut Fork in the Road and steer in a whole new direction. Maybe it's the addition of guitarist Andy Falco (Greencards, Vanessa Carlton), maybe it's the influence of producer Tim O'Brien, or maybe it's just the band's self-actualization. Either way, this self-titled disc is more defining than their debut.

Infamous Producer/Collaborator

I recently spoke with fiddler Jeremy Garrett about what was different about this record. He told me, "This time we felt like our lineup is just locked and this is a perfect little snapshot of what we do." Whereas their highly lauded debut, Fork in the Road, was recorded over several months—plenty of time to nitpick and perfect every single thing—Infamous Stringdusters was shoved into a couple of weeks' recording time. This was the result of several things, among them the decision to work with O'Brien.

O'Brien is one of those artists who intuitively steers each project on which he works, and this album is no different. Garrett said of O'Brien, "he's relaxed about how he plays music and how he records, and we just wanted to capture that." Indeed, that relaxed nature is captured quite well on the record.

Where Fork in the Road was a center-stage, high-octane performance, Infamous Stringdusters comes across as a secret peek on the band backstage. Which is not to say that they're not at full form. It's just a more raw session. Considering they're a hugely gifted bluegrass band, and not some made-up, airbrushed pop outfit, the rawness is a true asset.

Infamous Instrumentation

Garrett indicated in our interview that this album was more representative of who the band is, and where they're headed. No statement so encapsulates the spirit of this album than that.

With all the breadth of the songwriting on this record (top-velocity bluegrass jams, slow and sensitive love ballads, bluesy romps), it's the group's instrumentation that sets them apart from their peers (hence the name "Stringdusters"). So, it's somewhat disappointing that you can get five songs into the disc before the band slaps you with an instrumental. However, "Glass Elevator" (purcahse/download), with its interwoven, complicated time signatures and solos, is well worth the wait.

There are great instrumental moments earlier in the disc, though. The break that closes out "Well Well" (purchase/download) is an exquisite composition, with Garrett on fiddle and Jesse Cobb on mandolin juggling half-measures of rhythm, like a musical challenge, before Cobb just goes for it. The only drawback of this fabulous note-play is that it doesn't last longer. Cobb also shines at the beginning of "Golden Ticket" (purchase/download), before moving off to let Falco's fierce guitar take over. This is one of the best instrumental moments on the disc.

Infamous Love Songs

For all the fiery instrumentation on this disc, there are also the myriad love songs. Best among them, perhaps, is "The Way I See You Now" (purchase/download), which is a little more jaded than romantic: "Time makes us wise / time makes us fools / I never looked in your eyes / I looked past them somehow / I wish I had seen you then the way I see you now."

"You Can't Handle the Truth" (purchase/download) is a tightly-harmonized freight train of a song, tackling some of the more difficult areas of a relationship. "Lovin' You" (purchase/download) is another great love song that starts slow and builds to more of that tight, infectious harmony the Stringdusters do so well.

Whether it's love songs or tight, fast instrumentation, there's no doubt about it—Infamous Stringdusters (the album) is a splendid representation of the band by the same name, in all its relaxed, raw glory.