From the March issue of Dirty Linen.

Jake Schepps and crew are part of a growing modern stringband movement that uses bluegrass instrumentation but really produces music without border. Since many of Schepps's cerebral instrumental compositions were inspired by photographic art, unusual sights of nature, and even Japanese poetry (for the concept cover), it's interesting to note that these are really sonic interpretations of art, in essence art begetting art.
"The Rise" - a geologic reference to a Wyoming river (Popo Agie) disappearing into the earth and reemerging down stream - does feel like a rapid stream rippling over moss-strewn rocks. Initially, the tempo is fast, perhaps symbolizing the river's downhill momentum. Then is slows down: the arrangement mellows as now the river has submerged into the earth. Finally it resurfaces, the pace picks up, and the river rolls on.

The disc's centerpiece is the In the American West suite, a trilogy of a western Colorado hamlet ("Somerset"), a northern New Mexico village known for religious pilgrimages ("Chimayo), and an eastern colorado town famous for melons ("Rocky Ford") - hardly the typical Western fodder. With Schepps's equally accomplished bandmates and special guest mandolinist Matt Flinner, the arrangements are sleek, spry, and subtly sophisticated. On "Somerset," Schepps's banjo and Ryan Drickey's fiddle play a lolloping passage in unison before Drickey ascends to a different, higher melody line while Schepps contrasts nicely with the same melody. The acoustic bassist Eric Thorin echoes the same melody with Drickey, albeit octaves apart. "Cute-nik" features moments of new-classical chamber music with banjo and fiddle. There are moments of straight-forward bluegrass, such as "Bluegrass Schlep," but soon unexpected twists and turns pop up like twangy electric guitar and string-slapping jazzy bass solo. Recommended.

From the March issue of Dirty Linen.