Kalamazoo, Michigan quintet Greensky Bluegrass announced today the release of their anticipated new album Shouted, Written Down & Quoted, due out on September 23rd via the band’s own Big Blue Zoo Records/Thirty Tigers.
The album is the follow-up to 2014’s If Sorrows Swim, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart, and comes on the heels of sold-out shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Ryman Auditorium, and a closing performance at this year’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Today, Billboard premieres the album’s lead single “Past My Prime” – LISTEN HERE
Like the band’s name, Shouted, Written Down & Quoted is a collection of opposites, full of dark psychedelic swirls, bright bursts of acoustic guitar, soundscapes, solos, freethinking improvisation, and plenty of sharp, focused songwriting. It’s wild and wide-ranging, showing off the diversity Greensky Bluegrass brings to every live show. At the same time, Shouted, Written Down & Quoted is unmistakably a studio album, recorded during two different sessions — one at Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, North Carolina; the other at the Mountain House Recording Studio in Nederland, Colorado — that comprise the band’s longest block of recording time ever. The result is an 11-track album whose songs cast a wide net, mixing the full-throttle energy of a Greensky Bluegrass concert with the nuanced approach of a band that’s still eager to explore.
“You can call us an acoustic ensemble, or a drum-less rock band, or a rock & roll bluegrass band,” says mandolin player Paul Hoffman, who, along with guitarist Dave Bruzza, handles most of the album’s writing duties. “All of that shifting identity has taught us to cover a lot of ground. There’s a flow to this album, just like there’s a flow to our setlists. There are some aggressive, rocking moments. Some bouncy, funky moments. An acoustic think piece or two. It’s a balance of moods and textures that we create as a band, almost like a mix tape.”
Greensky Bluegrass is currently on tour, with more dates to be announced later this year.
http://greenskybluegrass.com/
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