Toronto’s Slocan Ramblers announced today details about their next album, along with a debut single and music video.
Up The Hill and Through the Fog is set for release on June 10, with 12 new recordings from the band, mostly written during the pandemic, which saw the loss of family members for mandolinist Adrian Gross and guitarist Darryl Poulsen. Both suggest that these latest compositions reflect the realness of the situation we have all just endured, with the legitimate threat of viral infection coupled with societal panic and overeaction.
They have also included a rock cover of Tom Petty’s A Mind With A Heart of Its Own, which serves as the album’s lead single. The original was included on Petty’s 1989 record, Full Moon Fever, perhaps the rocker’s most popular project, which also featured mega-hits Free Fallin’ and I Won’t Back Down.
There was no need to speed this one up for a bluegrass treatment, as it was an up tempo number from the start, and the Ramblers retain the rockin’ edge with slide banjo from Frank Evans. Fans of Petty’s cut will surely appreciate this grassed up version, as will fans of the sort of blues-inflected bluegrass gaining favor these days.
A Mind With A Heart of Its Own is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Pre-orders for the Up the Hill and Through the Fog are enabled as well.
