Mountain Fever Records

****1/2

Jackson Hollow, a four-piece outfit based from Vancouver, British Columbia, are a new band to me. Based on this superb debut album, they have a long-lasting and successful future ahead of them. Granted, there’s a lot of new bands competing in bluegrass realms these days, but the ability to ply instant appeal is the main thing that sets the more credible contenders apart, and this quartet has that in spades. The song choices and the musical interpretations—as well as the heartfelt lead vocal work of Tianna Lefebvre—show a fresh approach to bluegrass yet still pay homage to the roots and tradition that it came from. An excellent compendium of lesser-known songs as well as some well-chosen classic covers, it boasts a seamless synchronicity throughout. The band’s commitment to the roots culture is also evident, not only in the heart-felt homilies, but also via the astute arrangements and honest sentiment so evident in each of the album’s entries. Paired with music that works the space between country and bluegrass, the songs are like traveling to a different region, where the locals serve a familiar dish a little bit differently.It’s like planting well-known roots music in different soil. Throughout the four-piece flexes their musical chops to keep this perfectly timed and tuned machine called Jackson Hollow running.

The husband-and-wife team of Mike Sanyshyn (fiddle, mandolin, vocals) and Tianna Lefebvre (mandolin, lead vocals) are joined by Charlie Frie (upright bass, vocals) and Eric Reed (guitar) with special guests Jeff Scroggins (banjo on numerous tracks), Michael Kilby (Dobro) and John Reischman (mandolin on I’m All the Way Gone). Front and centre of the Jackson Hollow sound is the resounding, and resonating vocals of front woman Tianna. Her soul-inflected twang has the vibe of a Loretta or a Reba, the contemporary character of a Lainey Wilson, with the occasional belt so powerful it knocks the wind out. Her love for classic country music shines on the title song, one of four songs co-written by Melba Montgomery, the uncrowned queen of traditional country. Previously recorded by Reba McEntire, Tianna’s cracked vocal is filled with a wistful longing for a lover who broke a distraught woman’s heart, and we hear every last bit of pain in the natural emotion that lives in all the nooks and crannies of her voice. The rawness of her vocal comes through like you’re in the room with her, like a live performance.

With her astute bandmates she moves between the swaggering introduction of fiesty, up-tempo opener I’m All The Way Gone, with driving fiddle and the glistening smoothness of mid-tempo country break-up in For The Life Of Me, with grace and ease. They turn in a vibrant updating of Pam Tillis’ 1991 country hit, Put Yourself In My Place, that benefits tremendously from a crisp rhythm section, provided by scampering fiddle and the strong rhythm guitar of Eric Read, who is always there with the right sound, and Charlie Frie, whose bass is steadily on point and stands out. At once full of yearning and giddiness, Tianna mixes a twee naiveté on the track’s titular chorus with sly assertion on its verses, declaring what she’s seeking in love. What a rockin’ new spin on a timeless and incredible classic! 

Heartache In the Works, another co-write by Melba Montgomery, retains the primal energy that has long attracted people to the plaintive mountain sound in a mournful story of breakup. Tianna does a fine job filling the lyrics with emotion—it’s easy to believe that she’s singing about real experiences in her life, even on songs penned by others. On the soulful Pour It To Me Straight, she teeters on the edge in this powerful drinkin’ song. Mike Sanyshyn’s fiddle and mandolin trade melody lines throughout, the fiddle, especially, drips with emotion. The band sounds tighter than ever, with each member playing off of each other perfectly.

www.jacksonhollowmusic.com

March 2023