British Columbia bluegrass band Jackson Hollow has a strong sophomore release in Deep Blue Sky, out now on Mountain Fever Records. It’s the follow-up to their debut album, Roses, which produced successful singles like I’m All the Way Gone, Put Yourself in My Place, and Look Who’s Talking Now, and continues in their contemporary bluegrass style.
Tianna Lefebvre sings lead throughout in a distinctive, country-inflected voice, at times recalling Valerie Smith. Bright, almost-pop, harmonies are provided by band members Mike Sanyshyn (who does an excellent job on fiddle and mandolin) and solid bassist Charlie Frie. The fourth core member, Eric Reed, handles guitar on three tracks, while guest musicians Justin Moses (banjo) and Michael Kilby (Dobro and guitar) provide great support across the album.
The album is largely filled with interesting new songs from contemporary songwriters, mostly with a sunny outlook and very little of the stereotypical bluegrass gloom and doom. Nothing But Sky is catchy and upbeat, propelled by Justin’s rolling banjo and Mike’s driving fiddle. Appalachia, a bit more mellow in tempo, seems to be part of a current trend in bluegrass to mention that region—and pronounce it correctly! Hearts Love in Color is the sole breakup song.
Prolific bluegrass songwriter Rick Lang and Backline’s Katelyn Mabry Ingardia contributed A Lovely Day, a pretty, cheerful number, while Flutter is a country love song written by Tianna with Suzanne J. Breton. Rolling Away, the most traditional-sounding bluegrass track on the album, has a tried-and-true river theme.
Barbed Wire Heart Tattoo is a striking song and quite unusual in subject matter—surely the first bluegrass song written from the perspective of a funeral home makeup artist. No, it is not about Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One, but rather a powerful message about our inability to judge one another. Tianna sings in a lower register here and it is very effective.
The three cover songs on the album all come from the world of country music. Thank God for the Radio was a 1984 #1 Billboard country hit for the father-daughter duo The Kendalls. Wildflower is not the Tom Petty song covered a few times recently, but a sprightly paean to a simple life, co-written by Canadian country star Lisa Brokop and Douglas M. Johnson and recorded by Lisa in 2004. Another cheery number is Light in My Life, originally a 1993 release by Canadian country group The Johner Brothers.
Deep Blue Sky was recorded in Vancouver, BC, and produced by the band, with Gord Maxwell providing vocal production. Sheldon Zaharko and Andrew Downton provided excellent engineering, mixing, and mastering.
If you like your bluegrass on the contemporary side, and especially if you’re looking for positive songs, you’ll enjoy Jackson Hollow’s Deep Blue Sky.
