25 Trips

Sierra Hull's voice is as sparkling clear as a glacial stream tinged with just the right shad of Tennessee twang. Her mandolin rings with virtuosic command befitting the first woman voted Mandolin Player of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in 2016 (and in 2017 and 2018).

Along the same trajectory of Weighted Mind, her previous Rounder release, 25 Trips situates Sierra Hull in a realm of songwriting occupied by Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves and other artists, where poetic introspection yields seriously worthy results. In ‘How Long’, for example, Hull enlists a mandola to accentuate the dark anxiety associated with making decisions in the face of great challenge (‘There's some things you gotta do for yourself/How long is too late?Is too gone?How long?’). Here Hull works for the first time as co-producer and with Shani Gandhi (Mandolin Orange, Parker Millsap), and over 13 tracks she has created a multi-framed presentation ranging from cosmo-bluegrass (‘Middle of the Woods’) and retro-modern country (‘Ceiling to the Floor’) to intimate spotlight (‘Less’) and quirky pop (‘25 Trips’). The album exhibits a sophisticated approach to the studio as collaborative partner rather than glorified recording device.