Do not let Formations, the under-the-radar gem from Hawktail, fly by unnoticed. 

Fully instrumental, the band’s seven-track, 36-minute sophomore LP finds the quartet – Crooked Still fiddler Brittany Haas, Punch Brothers bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Jordan Tice and mandolinist Dominick Leslie – playing a beguiling mix of classical-leaning, bluegrass-infused, folksy, yet slightly esoteric, Celtic-cum-Americana music that defies simpler categorization. 

Written over two months, recorded in four days and co-produced by Kowert’s fellow Punch Brother Chris Eldridge, Formations leans most heavily on Hass’ fiddling, though every player plays an essential role, whether it’s Leslie’s prominent soloing on “The Tobogganist,” Tice’s front-porch picking on “Last One on the Line” or Kowert’s penchant for sending jazzy notes bubbling to the surface or bowing his instrument in tandem with Hass on “One Hour in Hungary.” 

Disparate has rarely sounded so coherent.