Billy Strings- Highway Prayers
Label: Rounder
Producer: Jon Brion
Billy Strings first emerged into the wider musical consciousness with his 2017 solo debut, Turmoil & Tinfoil, and through the three studio sets, and one live album that have occurred during the seven intervening years since, the prodigiously prolific bluegrass musician has emerged as one of the key creative forces to watch in roots music. As he launches the release of Highway Prayers, Strings is undoubtedly one of the buzziest live performers, most eagerly sought-after collaborators, and most respected musicians across all musical circles. His equal commitment to the bluegrass arena’s rich origins and to forward-looking creativity is apparent at every turn, with influences like Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe seamlessly interwoven with those of Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. Strings is inarguably the gateway artist to the future for bluegrass music, much like Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, and The Punch Brothers were in their own respective eras. With a twenty-song track-list, Highway Prayers tempts the trendy streaming-era epidemic of suffering from album bloat, but manages to subvert that trap based on the sheer quality of his songs, storytelling ability, and endless instrumental acumen. This record also flourishes due to its expansive personality and colorful variety. Mountainous musical showpieces like “Cabin Song”, “Malfunction Junction”, “Escanaba”, and the acapella-Appalachian harmony-laced opener, “Leaning on A Traveling Song” keep the project firmly planted in its grassy identity. Meanwhile, he astutely layers in trepedatious Outlaw lore with a track like “Seven Weeks In County” while unleashing lushly psychedelic vocals and hallucinogenic production on highlights like “Gild the Lily”, “My Alice”, and “Stratosphere Blues/I Believe In You”. Strings’ charming sense of humor is also a key ingredient in maintaining Prayers’ palatability across its lengthy run-time. This is glowingly emphasized through choices like the gospel trappings of a song titled “Richard Petty”, or the utter cheekiness of “Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM)”, or soundtracking the marijuana anthem “MORBUD4ME” with audio of literal bong-hits. “Catch and Release”, a homespun fable based around weed as much as it is fishing, meanwhile offers the kind of comedic storytelling of classic radio variety shows like A Prairie Home Companion. It’s these varied layers and splashes of diverse color, along with an indisputable musical excellence that make this record such an epic triumph, and further evidence of what a creatively vibrant and far-reaching artistic force Billy Springs has proven to be. He’s undoubtedly one of the most vital musical talents to break through over the course of the past decade.
Track Listing:
- “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song” (Billy Strings, Thomm Jutz)
- “In the Clear” (Strings, Aaron Allen, Jon Weisberger)
- “Escanaba” (Strings)
- “Gild the Lily” (Strings, Jarrod Walker)
- “Seven Weeks In County” (Strings, Allen)
- “Stratosphere Blues/I Believe In You” (Strings)
- “Cabin Song” (Strings)
- “Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4AM)” (Strings, Shawn Camp)
- “Malfunction Junction” (Strings)
- “Catch and Release” (Strings, Allen, Weisberger)
- “Be Your Man” (Strings)
- “Gone a Long Time” (Strings, Walker)
- “It Ain’t Before” (Strings, Jutz)
- “My Alice” (Strings, Allen, Weisberger)
- “Seney Stretch” (Strings, Allen, Weisberger)
- “MORBUD4ME” (Strings)
- “Leadfoot” (Strings)
- “Happy Hollow” (Strings, Jutz)
- “The Beginning of the End” (Strings)
- “Richard Petty” (Strings)
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