From the Dirt

Colored Edge of Memory

Self-released

From the Dirt is a mostly bluegrass band from Central Maryland, fronted by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Daniel Kenny, with Jeff Karn (mandolin), Megan Leigh (harmonies), and Eddie Dickerson (fiddle). The vocal harmonies are the main draw, but Kenny writes songs about typical themes of heartache, addiction, love, loss, and trying to cope that he handles brilliantly, often with an unexpected twist. The instrumentation largely suggests bluegrass, but they weave in Celtic, country, and hints of rock n’ roll, mostly in service to the song. It’s a mix that captures one’s attention from the outset. The four do not go it alone, however. They tap a premier producer/engineer/mixer in Jerry Brown (Doc Watson, Lucinda Williams, Watchhouse, and more) and augment their sound with Joseph Terrel (Mipso) on guitars, Joe MacPhail on drums and keys, Rick LaFleur (banjo), and Robbie Link (Townes Van Zandt) on upright bass. Colored Edge of Memory was recorded in Chapel Hill, NC.

Rather than start with the conventional, upbeat, feel-good song, they begin with on-target imagery in “Afterwards, on the Greyhound,” the epitome of loneliness and unanswerable questions as to how one ended up here – “Drifting away from brothers/breaking up with lovers/rush of the wheels beneath…Unchosen in the plenty/drowning in the empty/calling from each to each.” The fiddle is most haunting, building to a crescendo on the outro. The wait’s not long for that feel-good song. The animated “Angeline” follows in a fast-paced bluegrass fashion. The tempo recedes for “Silver Maple Spinners,” set to a slower Celtic rhythm, as we hear a dream of a lost love who has returned as a ghost. The opening line to the last verse contains the album title – “Colored memories fade.”

“Quitter” gallops along as Kenny sings about a breakup and the relentless grip of alcohol. Even the majesty of those New Hampshire “White Mountains” has a native regretting leaving for a lover in the Carolinas, only to return to his home, a bit battered but relieved nonetheless. Standout “Luthier’ features sharp picking and teeming harmonies as Kenny sings of the joy of playing music together, the beauty of woodworking, and the legacy of traditions. It aptly features great guitar work from Kenny and Terell and picking from banjoist LaFleur. The mood again turns melancholy with Dickerson’s resounding fiddle intro and the gorgeous harmonies in the lamenting “The Endless Rain.”

The moment calls for a slice of humor and up-tempo bluegrass, rendered nicely in “Train Wreck at the Bluegrass Jam,” a play on a jam that didn’t work out well as the band couldn’t shake their obsession with train songs. “Edge of the World Is a Rounding Error” is yet another moody song. While it’s a bit staid musically, it offers another peek into Kenny’s artful songwriting. This verse is magically sad – “We only feel the stillness when we’re moving/particles attuned across the flow/the constant of the waves was our undoing/the vibration of the strings against the bow.” Closer “Trick in the Dark” is an interesting play on how sobriety can turn the tables in a love that began on shaky ground.

Yes, it’s all about the songs. From the Dirt has some great ones.

• Jim Hynes

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