Storm Mountain

Parallel with his two decades as a founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters, Jeremy Garrett has had a prolific solo career with no fewer than seven albums to his credit.  His latest, the follow-up to 2022’s River Wild, is an impressive outing featuring songs that — as Garrett explains in the accompanying press material —“didn’t quite fit in with the crowds (the Stringdusters) usually play for.”

That said, the material, comprised of mostly original songs, is anything but second-rate or second-hand. Garrett has a supple and expressive tenor and he’s a wizard on the fiddle. As a songwriter, he excels at themes, both light and dark.

“The Border” is full of romantic optimism while the sardonic “Cold Hard Truth” is a reality check as to the unfairness of life.  “Slow Train” is a jaunty number about ditching your heartaches and starting anew. The tender “You’re Gonna Fly” offers encouragement to his young daughter, while the comically eerie instrumental, “Roswell” delves into the realm of UFOs. The simmering “Fire and Water” is a cover of a bitter-sweet anthem by the rock band, Free.

As much as it is a solo outing, Storm Mountain, which was recorded in a one-room studio near Garrett’s home in the Colorado outback, feels and sounds very much like a collaboration. The musicianship, especially Garrett’s fiddle, is dazzling throughout.