True Tones
On his new CD, mandolinist Mark Stoffel offers up a stylistically diverse outing on mostly original instrumental tunes. The Austrian expat who tours with Chris Jones and the Night Riders, does a deep dive into his own influences and tastes, creating a CD where styles range from modern bluegrass, to refined instrumentals, to the sort of 21st Century urban rhythms and beats under bluegrass instrumentation that Matt Flinner famously nicknamed “hick hop.”
Throughout the dozen tunes here, Stoffel takes the listener on an adventurous journey, supported by bluegrass stars including Jens Kruger, Rob Ickes, Chris Luquette, Gina Furtado, and more. And if you still cling to the belief that drums and percussion have no place in bluegrass music, a brief listen to Tony Creasman’s work here will dispel that, as his playing here is so light and measured you’d probably only notice him if you removed the drum track.
From his uptempo/urban beat driven tune, “Curious Times,” to a languid and glorious melodic rendition of “I’m Using My Bible For A Road Map,” Stoffel confidently maps out his personal musical space throughout True Tones. His punchy “Barnyard Funk” delivers just what its title implies, a rollicking and polyrhythmic, catchy and engaging piece that’s perfect for fans of the modern bluegrass world of Billy Strings and jamgrass bands. One other highlight is “Closet of Forbidden Memories” (even his song titles are a fresh take on typical bluegrass nomenclature). Driven by a great beat and groove, punctuated by the lovely guitar sound of Luquette, Ickes’ Dobro is at its clearest here, closing out when Stoffel comes in with a slippery, nuanced mandolin solo featuring some gorgeous muted, dampened tones at end.
Special mention goes to the excellent engineering and mastering done here by Ben Surrat and Scott Barnett (among others), where they populate a broad soundstage with thoughtful placement of each instrument and its recorded sound. In the end, Stoffel’s newest CD gives proof positive that true tones needn’t be solely ancient tones to deliver compelling instrumental mandolin music for a new generation of fans.
