DYLAN McCARTHY

DYLAN McCARTHY
LOST & FOUND

No Label
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This seven-track recording takes us through a range of originals all featuring McCarthy’s fine mandolin playing. With prior experience with classical piano and time spent at Berklee College of Music, we are treated to the new sounds that are modern bluegrass. There are elements of jazz and classical music here, much like that found in the genre called Dawg Music.

The recording is very clean and the playing is highly technical, displaying the advanced prowess of the musicians. Natalie Padilla shines on fiddle on four tracks. Justin Hoffenburg ably plays fiddle on the remainder. Allen Cooke plays some fine resonator guitar on three cuts. Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose plays banjo with a modern touch. His role is more rhythmic on “The Jamestown Turnaround,” kind of a take-off on the early Jazz and Tin Pan Alley music. Then, he shows adept flexibility with the melody on the old two-step time. Padilla whips out some nice swing licks. Guitarist Eric Wiggs show he knows more than progressive bluegrass. Bradley Morse not only keeps things solid with his bass, but can also strut his stuff when the time comes.
“24th Of August” and “Old Bisbee” are standout tracks. On the later track, the banjo sounds like melodic clawhammer. The tune “The Doldrums” languishes and lumbers along, churning, but going nowhere. Like the opening cut, “Mosquito” is another musical onomatopoeia. The songwriting on Lost & Found is up to the high standard of the performances. (www.dylanmaccarthymusic.com)RCB