MilkDrive is another young string band that uses the instruments and techniques of the old time and bluegrass traditions to create their own unique brand of alternative pop music.
They are based in Austin, TX, where the wide and varied arts scene seems to blend everything together into something special and distinct from music created anywhere else. A quick listen demonstrates that theirs is not a bluegrass sound, but you can hear the elements that shaped the evolution of their style.
The four band members switch off regularly between fiddles, mandolins and guitars, other than Jesse Dalton, who sticks to bass. Brian Beken sings lead, with Dennis Ludiker and Noah Jeffries adding harmonies amidst the sundry fiddles and such.
A new album of original music, Places You’ve Not Been, is due to hit on March 31, and the guys have released a graphic video version of the opening track as a tease.
See what you think…
Here is a second video, a live presentation of another track from the upcoming album, Soho, written by Austin songwriter Drew Smith.
Readers who are open to acoustic music that stretches beyond the somewhat elastic boundaries of bluegrass may find MilkDrive to their liking.
