Description
Label Review.
2019 album. Americana. Also available on Vinyl.
Our Overview.
Newgrass/Americana string band from Belleville, Illinois Old Salt Union are releasing their new album ‘Where The Dogs Don’t Bite’ to delight their global fanbase. Old Salt Union is a string band founded by a horticulturist, cultivated by classically trained musicians, and fuelled by a vocalist/bass player who is also a hip-hop producer with a fondness for the Four Freshmen. It is this collision of styles and musical vocabularies that informs their fresh approach to bluegrass and gives them an electric live performance vibe that seems to pull more from Vaudeville than the front porch.
Old Salt Union once again enlisted Grammy-winning banjoist and Compass co-founder Alison Brown to produce the follow-up to their self-titled Compass Records debut. The resulting album, ‘Where The Dogs Don’t Bite’, builds on this non-traditional stringband’s varied musical backgrounds for a wildly entertaining, eclectic batch of songs.
The quintet Ryan Murphy (banjo), Justin Wallace (mandolin), John Brighton (violin), Jesse Farrar (primary vocalist and bassist) and newest member Graham Curry (guitar) have continued to hone and develop their sound through relentless touring, cultivating a steadfast fanbase drawn to their highenergy shows. Coming from varied musical backgrounds, Old Salt Union’s collective melting pot of styles and musical vocabularies informs their fresh approach to modern string band music and has helped to carve a unique niche for this Belleville, Illinois roots outfit.
Farrar, nephew of Son Volt’s Jay Farrar , kicks off the album with “God You Don’t Need,” a hook laden ode to a relationship gone bad set against a tapestry of strings and an eerily compelling banjo melody. Label mate Bobby Osborne guests on “Tells Me So,” a nod to the bluegrass side of the band’s musical sensibilities featuring a lead vocal by mandolinist Justin Wallace. Violinist Brighton delivers the gypsy-tinged instrumental “Johann’s Breakdown,” which pulls from jazz and classical progressions, and Wallace delivers the haunting title track, “Where The Dogs Don’t Bite.” The dark, but heartfelt song features triple-layered guitar harmonies, stacked vocals and a group sing-along that recalls last call at a corner pub in the rust belt, a fitting closing.
“Old Salt Union has the groove and the chops of a great string band, balanced with infectious rock and roll energy. Their music occupies that sweet space between Old Crow folk and Yonder Mountain jam not a bad place to be for a band about to break.” No Depression