Signature Sounds 1278

On this, their second release as Daisy Mayhem, Rani Arbo and company take a turn away from swing and focus on traditional American folk music. The result is an amazing blend of new and old.

On the traditional side, this talented group of musicians draw from the Georgia Sea Islands, Lead Belly, and Fiddling John Carson among others. The songs are driven by tasteful and driving rhythmic percussion from Scott Kessel, with Rani's fiddle ever present. The arrangements are engaging and haunting with help from old-timey revivalist and producer, Dirk Powell. On the contemporary side, Rani Arbo contributes three original songs while bandmates Andrew Kinsey and Anand Nayak pitch in one each. The CD closes with the beautiful and meditative "Farewell to Saint Delores" from the pen of the late Dave Carter. Whether the songs are traditional, contemporary or a blend of both, this talented group has created a solid collection that shines with great playing and singing.

If you've followed the career of Rani Arbo from the band Salamander Crossing to this current line-up, you can't help but admire the ease in which she slides between bluegrass, jazzy swing, mountain music and original compositions, successfully blending all three. Gambling Eden serves as a reminder that musical categories are a necessity for catalogs and record stores, not necessarily for lovers of music.--MW

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