On Mountain States, Johnny Bell evolves banjo music for the modern era, allowing the cultural and environmental climates of today to seep into and alter its very DNA. With the influence of the ambience of both Appalachia and the Rocky Mountains, a place Bell had called home for most of his life, and the co-production work of the legendary Andrew Weathers (who also contributes guitars, synthesizers and cymbals), the banjo fantasias found on this disc are extremely atmospheric and expressionistic.

Inspired by the low tunings, strange meters and slowly building tidal waves of crushing drones found in progressive metal, Bell emphasizes the banjo’s under-appreciated sustaining abilities by combining open tunings and repetitive ostinatos with the propulsive rhythm of clawhammer style. He utilizes these qualities, and complements them with fiddles and a shruti box to create entrancing pieces that flow with a hypnotic tension and evoke a melancholic, stark and forbidding vibe.

This is especially true of the album’s first single, “Departure Valley,” which is prime stoic ambient Americana:

Preorder this album now ahead of its May 8th release by Centripetal Force (USA) and Ramble Records (Australia).

-KH