Almost concurrently with the release of Home, Billy Strings was named Emerging Artist of the Year and Guitarist of the Year for 2019 by the International Bluegrass Music Association. It’s a well-deserved acknowledgment and reflection, certainly, of his live performances. Yet, the awards just as easily could describe the assessment of his latest album; a wildly entertaining collection of songs displaying Strings titanic skills on guitar, not to mention those of his brilliant ensemble.
The foreboding opening of “Taking Water,” with itscongregation of stringed instruments and their up-tempo escalations, turninginto the fiddle-and-banjo romp of “Must Be Seven,” and lyrics telling us don’tlook back, are confident one-two shots. The tempo hits even harder on the runaway “Running,” before Stringsturns electric on “Away from the Mire,” building to a crescendo out of a reverberating,angular progression. NearlyZeppelin-like on the title track, with ghostly vocals and a mounting of strings,Strings chooses a more idyllic, peaceful arrangement to chase down Wall Streetand failing leaders on “Watch it Fall,” in a consciously wise juxtaposition ofsound and substance.
There is more conspicuous attention to production here thanon previous efforts, best exemplified on “Highway Hypnosis,” carrying momentsthat sonically feel like a ride in the trunk of an intergalactic taxi cab. There’s a cold, stark honesty within “Enoughto Leave” and “Hollow Heart,” enough to persuade the jury of Strings’ maturingsongwriting and gravitas behind his high and lonesome wail. He welcomes Molly Tuttle and Jerry Douglas,among others, to share in the journey, but even as collaborative as the albumsounds, it’s most reflective of Strings and his mission.
The burner of all burners, “Everything’s the Same,” precedesthe exotic “Guitar Peace” that winks at George Harrison and, perhaps onceagain, to the obscure Zeppelin outtake, “White Summer.” In spot-on four-part harmony, Strings and hiscohorts close out the fun with “Freedom.” It’s an apt final cut for an album celebrating the freedom of expressionfrom a blossoming master with a lot to say, and a lot to play.
