WORLDWIDE
Praised by NPR for their “upbeat, poppy vibe; energetic, driving rhythms; and virtuosic solos,” TWISTED PINE released their sophomore full-length Right Now in 2020 (Signature Sounds Recordings). Exploring a sound they call Americana funk, Twisted Pine takes traditional music in exhilarating directions. Bassist Chris Sartori writes, “This album is easier to feel than describe. We’re rooted in bluegrass, continually inspired by explorers like Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Sierra Hull. Right Now takes this heritage into a new dimension. Our bluegrass is jazzy, our indie folk is poppy, our grooves are funky.”Twisted Pine [Kathleen Parks, fiddle; Dan Bui, mandolin; Chris Sartori, bass; Anh Phung, flute] grooves with fearless improvisation and intricate arrangements. “They were once bluegrass,” wroteThe Boston Globe, “but … this Boston band has become something else, a wider version of string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still.”
Right Now [latest release]
Released in the Summer of 2020, Right Now is a cosmic map of the new and glistening journeys of Twisted Pine, the Boston-based spacecraft of a band that was once bluegrass but is now “something else, a wider version of a stringband, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still [The Boston Globe].” The soundscape for this full-length sophomore release has all the sass of zero-gravity pop; the grooves of 2 a.m. funk jams; the astral flute and shoobedoos of 70s radio. “Punch Brothers meets Jean-Luc Ponty and Ian Anderson [Jethro Tull],” writes Folk Alley of the instrumental track “Amadeus Party” — and yet the lyric narratives are packed with the elements of earthling mountain music. “Right Now” aims to shut the careless mouth of an ex. “Papaya” whispers, “Don’t just pass me right by.” “Dreamaway” describes a faith that comes and goes. “Don’t Come Over Tonight” demands a night off from a guy’s opinions. The covers pay homage to Father John Misty and Tex Logan — two points that intersect the plane of this exquisite world. Twisted Pine is Kathleen Parks (Newburgh, NY) on fiddle and lead vox; Dan Bui (Houston, TX) on mandolin; Chris Sartori (Concord, MA) on bass; and Twisted Pine’s newest addition, Anh Phung (Chilliwack, BC) on flute. Everybody sings. Twisted Pine plays under the influence of explorers Jerry Douglas (with whom the band occasionally tours), Bela Fleck, Sierra Hull, Billy Strings, The Wood Brothers, and Lake Street Dive and Crooked Still (label mates at Signature Sounds Recordings). Right Now was produced by Twisted Pine and by Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound in Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA.
