Get a Life

Warren G Harding is an odd name to choose for a band name. History regards that particular US president as one of the country's worst: he presided over the Teapot Dome scandal which, pre-Watergate, was the byword for political bribery and corruption. There's nothing scandalous about this Seattle string band, however, unless you’re a bluegrass hater who regards nimble mandolin runs, frenzied fiddle riffing and bravura banjo picking as impeachable offences.

The group has two vocalists (although all members harmonise). Dave Zelonka, who handles most of the songs, has a soft, rather androgenous voice that's unusual for this sort of music, reminiscent of Chet Baker or even Everything but the Girl's Tracey Thorn. Gabriel Marowitz, by contrast, gives the more straight-ahead bluegrass tracks, such as ‘High & Low’, a more abrasive edge. Over the course of the album a contrast emerges: songs that are a bit indie-folk, generally with a ‘woah-oh-woah’ singalong vocal and a little Mumford Sons-style angst to them; and the more trad bluegrass stylings, as heard by the instrumental showcase ‘Eh?’. Purists will prefer them in latter mode, but the band really swings throughout, with Lee Callender's fiddle playing being particularly inventive.