Album Review of
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves

Label: Free Dirt

Genres: Folk, Bluegrass

Styles: Traditional Folk, Traditional Bluegrass


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Written by Joe Ross
March 14, 2019 - 12:00am EDT
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Spirited old-timey sounds of Tatiana Hargreaves’ fiddle and Allison de Groot’s clawhammer banjo convey plenty of images of yesteryear. Each track has its own quaintness, saw’ed off in a rustic fashion with rosin a-flyin’ and frailed on banjo in a studio environment. A few rollicking favorites to get the toes tapping are “Eighth of January,” “Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Melinda.” Both Hargreaves and de Groot sing, and we hear them harmonizing on The Poplin Family’s “I Don’t Want To Get Married” and Blue Sky Boys’ “Who Wouldn’t Be Lonely.” Hargreaves sings solo, accompanied only by de Groot’s banjo, on “Beaufort County Jail” and “Willie Moore.” The young women use different tunings for their instruments, and those are clearly shown in the liner notes. Check out their renditions of “Buffalo Gals” and “Wabash Blues” with cross-tuned fiddle and driving banjo. While just ordinary folk, these two talented ladies are superlative purveyors of this genre. Their old-time mountain music has plenty of electricity and imparts an intensity that is emotionally-charged. They also chose a nice variety of songs and tunes that resonate with authenticity of our deepest musical traditions. Add these two women to the list of current “stars” of old-timey music, and the future of this genre is in good hands with artists like these two women.  (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)