The talented multi-instrumentalist's
Nonesuch debut,
Crooked Tree, marks the studio debut of
Molly Tuttle's bluegrass collective
Golden Highway.
Tuttle's prior two efforts, 2019's
When You're Ready and 2020's
...But I'd Rather Be with You, were bluegrass-adjacent affairs, with the former exploring country-folk and Americana and the latter delivering a set of eclectic covers.
Golden Highway's core consists of
Tuttle on six-string, banjo player
Kyle Tuttle (no relation), fiddler
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, bassist
Shelby Means, and mandolin player
Dominick Leslie.
Tuttle surrounds the group with a murderers' row of genre greats, including "newgrass" vets
Viktor Krauss and
Jerry Douglas, the latter of whom also co-produced the album. With guest spots from
Margo Price,
Billy Strings,
Old Crow Medicine Show,
Sierra Hull,
Dan Tyminski, and
Gillian Welch,
Crooked Tree can feel a little busy, but the playing is reliably top-notch, and the songs, which approach trad-bluegrass themes from a female perspective, are both potent and timely. ~ James Christopher Monger
