Daybreak

Between Sarah Jarosz and Sierra Hull, there seems to be a surfeit of teenaged mandolin-strumming-singer-songwriter prodigies on the acoustic/bluegrass scene today – and that’s no bad thing. Not many 19-year-olds would have responded to the pressure of producing a highly anticipated second album with a recording as deftly crafted as Daybreak. But Hull has already proven that she’s an artist with a surprisingly mature sensibility, with the chops to transform fanciful musings into a finished product worthy of any advanced billing.

Produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station bassist Barry Bales, Daybreak walks a fine line between being a traditional bluegrass showcase and a country-pop vehicle to catapult Hull’s obvious appeal onto a wider audience beyond the newgrass choir. Like any smart, ambitious teenager, Hull wants the world to know that she’s ‘not a child anymore/not afraid anymore,’ as she sings on ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ (written by Kevin McClung). With seven of the 12 tracks on the album penned by Hull, she’s also not averse to venturing into territory where even her mentor, Alison Krauss, who prefers adapting to writing songs, rarely treads. Daybreak covers a range of idiomatic styles from swinging Texas ditties (‘Best Buy’) to epic romantic ballads (‘All Because of You’), from old-timey gospel harmonisers (‘Land of the Living’) to pickin’ and grinnin’ twang-fests (‘Chasin’ Skies’). Hull’s eclectic and evolving personal repertoire illuminates an insatiable curiosity and a willingness to take chances which bodes well for a career still in its formative stages.