New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Spawned from the ongoing renaissance currently enriching and expanding the traditional vocabularies of old time and bluegrass music, Old Time Reverie - available October 2 via Robust Records - finds rising stringband Mipso putting time-honored tools to work on new terrain - with evocative, intoxicating results. Constant touring has tightened their attack, lending a new degree of authority and cohesion to their sound, while the addition of fiddler and vocalist Libby Rodenbough to the existing lineup of Jacob Sharp (mandolin), Joseph Terrell (guitar), and Wood Robinson (bass), has added new colors to an already rich palette.
When Mipso's 2013 debut, Dark Holler Pop, rose to #8 on Billboard's Bluegrass charts, the success surprised a lot of people - including the band themselves. "Well, we didn't think so many people would embrace it," laughs mandolin player Jacob Sharp, "and we definitely didn't know we were a bluegrass band." Two years on, Old Time Reverie - produced by Mandolin Orange's Andrew Marlin - reflects the quartet's continued musical and personal growth.
The album's original songs paint morally nuanced portraits of Mipso's complex and evolving native landscape. "Being young artists living in the middle of North Carolina is inherently complicated," adds Libby Rodenbough, "because we're trying to position ourselves within our family, state, regional histories - while being true to all the understanding of the world we've gained over the past year. This album contains a lot of songs that deal with moral ambiguity and the struggles that come with forging an identity - which has a lot to do with the fact that we're from and continue to live in North Carolina."
"By being on the road 200 days a year," adds guitarist Joseph Terrell, "we've come to understand how we fit into this idea of the new South - not the south of old stereotypes, but a really intriguing, nuanced place that's educated and progressive, while also embracing its traditions"
For more information about Mipso and Old Time Reverie, visit www.mipsomusic.com.
Advance Praise for Old Time Reverie:
"...the picking is strong, the harmonies solid, and the tension between traditional musical tropes and the post-modern uncertainty of the lyrics makes for one satisfying sound." - The Nashville Scene
"Mipso is poised to be a new sort of
Nickel Creek for the rising generation of folk/newgrass fans... their second album, Old Time Reverie is full of lush and moving songs that feel as fresh as a warm spring rain." - The Guardian
"Provocative and mature...their best work yet." - INDY Week
"The Chapel Hill quartet's very fine new album Old Time Reverie is as sharp as they've ever sounded, 11 solid songs that go well beyond traditional string-band music with abundant pop sense." - News & Observer
Praise for Mipso:
"Their mix of authentic folk, infused with a contemporary vibe, upholds Doc Watson's 'traditional-plus' spirit."
-
Sarah Hall, No Depression
"Mipso has toured many a mile…and whether one calls their music 'renegade traditional' or 'dark holler pop,' it scarcely matters. Theirs is the deeply soulful sound of North Carolina at its striving, yearning best, their straight-from-the-heart songs delivered with high artistry and powerhouse precision in every voice, every note."
- Bland Simpson, Tony Award-winning playwright and member of the Red Clay Ramblers
"Their name and their sound defies typical definition, yet their harmonies and lyrics are synonymous with many bluegrass acts of the past…[the] gentlemen of Mipso are already finding themselves a deserving spot amongst their contemporary bluegrass brethren..." - The Bluegrass Situation, 12/11/13
www.mipsomusic.com
