Mandolin Orange‘s “Hard Travelin’” is a delightful mix of Americana, bluegrass and country. As the band’s name might suggest, mandolins feature heavily alongside loosely-tuned snares and slide guitars. Solos trade off between guitar and mandolin, injecting an otherwise standard verse-chorus stomper with an immense amount of vigor. Mandolin Orange’s consummate musicianship honors the genres they traverse.
“’Hard Travelin’’ lurked in the archives of our repertoire for several years. Andrew wrote it back before we recorded This Side of Jordan in 2012, but it never had a place on our earlier records,” says Mandolin Orange’s Emily Frantz. “Since we recorded Blindfaller live with a band, we threw this one in the mix during the demo sessions, and we just fell in love with the take we got that first day. There will be room for looser, more out-there solo-taking, which is fun for us. We’re excited to have it out in the world because it’s going to be such a fun jammer on tour!”
Blindfaller releases September 30th.