Volume Five may have started at a jam session when it first formed in 2008, but in the years since, they’ve gone on to win some of the most prestigious honors and accolades in all of today’s music environs — among them, two International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards, and nominations for the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards and those from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA).
The band — Glen Harrell on lead vocals and fiddle; Jacob Burleson on guitar and vocals; Chris Wade on banjo; Wyatt Harman on bass; and Nick Keen on mandolin — has also won the praise of critics, their contemporaries and fans, courtesy of a string of highly-acclaimed, chart-topping albums released over the span of the past 15 years by their first and only record label, Mountain Fever Records. Jeff Partin adds reso-guitar.
Leave A Light On offers yet another example of the sound that’s won the band such consistent commendations. Here again, much of their appeal stems from the emotion instilled in these songs, as emphasized in Dreams Like That, Walking Among the Living, the tellingly-titled You Don’t Care For Me Enough To Cry, and a sensitive take on Dave Mason’s signature song We Just Disagree. That said, Country Wishing Well and Dying All Over Again find the band opting for a more uptempo pace and, in turn, added output as far as energy and exuberance.
Nevertheless, an inherent part of the band’s appeal lies in the fact they relish their folk roots. That’s best expressed in the title track, which owes its appeal to a quiet caress and a decidedly calm demeanor. Likewise, the concluding track, What Can You Do, manages to encompass both soothing sentiment and a fresh finesse. That’s encouragement enough to turn the volume up, not only to five but well beyond as well.
