Mike Savino of Tall Tall Trees is a banjo player who excels at traditional forms but is not tied to them. Unlike previous releases under this name, Savino wrote and recorded Freedays as a one-man act, making most of the instrumental sounds with his banjo and a computer. The result is a weird and wonderful, blissed-out sonic meditation.
On Freedays, Savino creates a marvellous sonic forest, layering a base of technique and twang, an indie electronica wall of sound and a gentle pop sensibility. From the meandering entry of the first track, "Backroads," to the sweetly speedy expert fingerpicking of "EaglexSeagull," to the distorted throb of "The Riverbend," Freedays paints a lush and surreal boreal landscape.
Listening to it feels like having a feverish dream about a bluegrass album, or driving through the dirt roads of Northern Ontario in a trance state; you can smell the pine trees, you can feel the clouds.
(Joyful Noise)On Freedays, Savino creates a marvellous sonic forest, layering a base of technique and twang, an indie electronica wall of sound and a gentle pop sensibility. From the meandering entry of the first track, "Backroads," to the sweetly speedy expert fingerpicking of "EaglexSeagull," to the distorted throb of "The Riverbend," Freedays paints a lush and surreal boreal landscape.
Listening to it feels like having a feverish dream about a bluegrass album, or driving through the dirt roads of Northern Ontario in a trance state; you can smell the pine trees, you can feel the clouds.