Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers

The pseudo-psychedelic drone-folk trio Pelt’s musical chemistry still courses through these songs as guitar virtuoso Jack Rose and Mike Gangloff reunited to form Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers. Guitar virtuoso Jack Rose continues to play guitar with a harder attack than most string-band traditionalists and his low-string thumb-picking still competes for volume against Mike Gangloff’s unmitigated banjo playing. Combined with the varied percussion of Nate Bowels and Isak Howell’s accompanying guitar and harmonica, songs like the opening public domain cover of “Little Sadie” come to life. The light-handed rendition of the traditional instrumental “Sail Away Ladies/I Shall Not Be Moved” takes a back-porch detour with the breezy feel of a lazy Southern spring day. Only two originals surface here; the string-bending John Fahey inspired “Revolt” and “Kensington Blues,” a sweet rambling instrumental overflowing with sunny melodies. This album was to be the centerpiece of “The Ditch Trilogy,” but unfortunately Rose died from a heart attack shortly after recording it. Luck In The Valley followed posthumously.