Against All Tides

Lyrically engaging, harmonically alluring and instrumentally honed to a crystalline sharpness, Harpeth Rising ascend to the upper echelon of the chamber-bluegrass category with Against All Tides, the band's second album as a trio. Drawn from the singing well of both Medieval troubadours and Appalachian balladeers, and framed by playfully intricate arrangements characteristic of stringbands and chamber ensembles, the classically trained cellist Maria Di Meglio, banjo player Michelle Younger and violinist Jordana Greenberg create beguiling contemporary American music.

Eight of the 11 tracks are originals, augmented by two with lyrics by Greenberg's father David, a Canadian-American folk fiddler and orchestral violinist, plus a cover of Joan Baez's ‘Prison Trilogy.’ The songs address topical subjects such as hypocrisy and ignorance in the capitol on ‘535 (Are You Even Alive?)’, religious fundamentalism (‘Love Child’) and for the cause of social justice on ‘Westbound from Polaris’). In terms of both artistry and articulation, this trio stand apart in tripartite harmony from the standard issue Americana horde.