With music that is part bluegrass and part roots rock with a dose of funk-influenced danceable rhythms, Fireside Collective is stylishly blurring the lines of traditional roots genres. The Asheville, North Carolina-based group is out to make a unique artistic statement through a diverse approach — one that has already gained the quintet a fervent fan base and the attention of their peers.
On Elements, Fireside Collective blends the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy.
Members Joe Cicero (guitar); Alex Genova (banjo); Jesse Iaquinto (mandolin); Tommy Maher (resonator guitar) and Carson White (upright bass) each bring a strong, original voice to his instrument, and the unique contributions of different lead and harmony vocalists complement the variety in the group’s songwriting.
The first two singles, “She Was An Angel” and “Don’t Stop Loving Me,” solidified the group as one of the fastest rising artists in today’s progressive bluegrass and roots music scene, as they’ve gained ground with national radio airplay.
Produced by Travis Book of the Infamous Stringdusters, Elements is distinctive, continuing to use a wide influence of sounds to create a body of work that belongs to Fireside Collective alone.
The groovy “Winding Road” and the funky “Bring It On Home” show what can be done with bluegrass instrumentation outside the genre’s conventions, while songs like “Waiting For Tennessee” and “High Time” capture the band’s ability to bring their live energy to recording.
“Circles” and “Done Deal” bring an introspective restlessness, accentuated by the former’s musical pointillism and the latter’s insistent, loping rhythm and regretful lyrics, and the instrumental, “Night Sky From Here,” shows off Fireside Collective’s mastery of moods with an ever-moving spotlight on each member in “breakdown” passages that alternate with driving bluegrass rhythms.
Elements announces the arrival of a band that has found its place in the contemporary era of roots music by both reflecting and shaping new sounds of the genre.