Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St

Frankly, it’s unfortunate that psych soul stalwart Swamp Dogg’s label chose to announce his new foray into bluegrass with the raunchy ‘Mess Up Under Your Dress’. Though it speaks to Dogg’s irreverence and sly humour, it says nothing about what this album is. It’s not a jokey one-off from an artist curious about a new genre, this album is a full-blown reworking of bluegrass from the ground up from an early insider. Though Dogg’s never recorded bluegrass before, he says that he grew up loving it as a young kid in the 1940s. To pay homage to the genre, and to show the Black roots of the music, Dogg’s new album, Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St, brings together some of the brightest stars in bluegrass, from Noam Pikelny to Sierra Hull. Led by album producer Ryan Olson of Bon Iver, the arrangements here craft astounding new worlds for the genre. They’re caught halfway between the stringband roots of bluegrass, and the string-drenched soul and R&B that Dogg is better known for. As a songwriter, Dogg’s written thousands of songs on every topic imaginable, so it’s perhaps no surprise that he can nail a sad country ballad (‘Curtains on the Window’) as easily as a regretful protest song (‘Songs to Sing’) or a creepy murder ballad. Ultimately the point is that Dogg is an artist who’s impossible to pin down. Like his friend John Prine, his artistry will always rove free.