Loving a Fool

This debut album, funded through a Kickstarter campaign, is a masterclass in presenting old and new side by side. Tumbling Bones are a trio (Kyle Morgan, Jake Hoffman and Pete Winne) from Portland in Maine, who play and sing old-time Americana alongside their own indie-folk compositions in this seamless, carefully compiled collection. Over half of the tracks here are idiomatic performances of pre-war country classics and traditionals – such as the cover of the late bluegrass elder statesman Bill Monroe's ‘Just Because’ – dug out from vintage recordings. The most glorious renditions are the a capella songs, which feature vigorous, close-harmony singing, including the spiritual, spine-tingling hymn ‘God Leads Us Along’ and yearning standard, ‘Bright Morning Stars’.

Epitomised by the opener ‘Broken Things’ and ‘Red, Red Rose’, both written by Morgan, the trio's own songs are very different: rousing, catchy, verse-and-chorus affairs, sung over a firm bed of instrumental accompaniment. A full dozen of such self-penned tracks would have made this an extremely effective folk-pop record. As it is, Loving a Fool cleverly sets Tumbling Bones’ original, contemporary songwriting in the context of the music of their forefathers. Where the trio goes from here will be interesting to see.