RubyJoyful - The Pie Chart of Love (2024)

This 12-cut CD is Colorado’s RubyJoyful’s debut & it deals with basically what most collections have tendencies to cover: a Universal story of love. Many songs are laid back in a country & bluegrass-folk manner. What’s particularly interesting is how the songs are sung. The music is loaded with mandolin, banjo & fiddles – but that’s to be expected since it’s homegrown music & the vocals are equally rural.

The playing is bright & melodic. But don’t expect fiery solos or showboating. The band is firmly planted in the music as a unified showcase. It’s ambitious, antiquated in its presentation but not necessarily retro. The voices are fresh & young & the material is well-defined. The musicians know their material’s essence.

The first cut that charmed my ears is “Fiddler’s Lament,” which has a slight mainstream attraction. Lots more personality than technique. But that can be good. I’d admit the late fiddle player John Hartford would find a comfortable spot with these young players. They are good.

As the songs progress, they open up a bit with more toe-tapping, melody & despite their back porch & campfire swing they have some lift. The songs don’t always project in any one style. They touch upon Country, cruise along the folk margins & take a dip into bluegrass. The diversification keeps the mild performance interesting & just a hair away from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

There isn’t much in the way of controversial or intense songwriting. The material is always engaging if not entertaining. The creative steps are tentative, but the talent goes deep. The songs should mix the lead instruments a little more to set each melody apart from the previous one. Some songs are too mandolin/banjo heavy — more acoustic guitar would balance the sameness.

The music’s rural temperature keeps it in a delicate range rather than becoming working-class folk music. It dabbles close in a hillbilly string band tradition, but the sound is never “old-timey.” They maintain an exceptional delicacy with their instrumentation.