Dangermuffin - Moonscapes (2010)

Charleston, SC based Dangermuffin has just released their first effort for stalwart Dualtone Records called Moonscapes and it s as tastefully brilliant a record as you will hear this year. It s Bela Fleck meets the Wailers meets the Allman Brothers meets Average White Band yet it s unlike anything I ve heard in quite some time. Perhaps it s the vocals of front man Dan Lotti that stretch to fit every one of the multitude of musical styles that this trio tackles. The musical garden salad on Moonscapes ranges from improvisational jazz breaks, reggae rhythms, soft mountain ballads and out and out rock jams surrounding intelligent catchy lyrics and hook laden melodies that are inescapable once you've heard them. Moonscapes opens with the title track; a jazz-infused jam with hard driving guitar rhythms and plenty of tasty solo work by guitarist Mike Sivilli. Sivilli shines on this album staking claim as one of the finest if little known guitar players on the roots/ Americana circuit. Mystery Repeating, the albums second track, once again starts in one direction and gradually moves across the musical landscape touching everything along the way like the morning mist across the Blue Ridge mountains. Lotti and Sivilli provide dueling guitar and banjo rhythms that bounce between bluegrass, twangy rock and Allman-esque sweet southern jam. It s remiss to not mention the rhythm section provided by percussionist, bassist Steven Sandifer as being one of the driving forces behind the powerful sound of Dangermuffin. His talent and creativity are evident throughout. One of the purest examples of Dangermuffin s versatility and raw power is the closing track Coffin Island which starts as a swaying-in-the-palm-trees acoustic ballad with a ukulele and ends with an eight minute guitar assault that leaves the hair on your neck on its end. Sivilli showcases his mastery of tone and melodic timing on every track but in particular on this song. Moonscapes is a gem that should place Dangermuffin at or near the top of the jam band hierarchy where Old Crow Medicine Show and Widespread Panic reign supreme.