10 String Symphony: Weight Of The World

Updated:

November 24, 2015 12:46 pm

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10 String Symphony
Weight Of The World
(Poppychop)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Start with a bluegrass band, take away all but two five-string fiddles and occasional banjo, then remove all the zippy solos and bouncy melodies and what’s left is pretty close to the mostly melancholy sound of Nashville’s 10 String Symphony. The “symphony” in the group’s name is clearly tongue in cheek since this is about as stripped down and rustic as you can get.

Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer are the only voices and provide the majority of the playing on this short but tasty 32 minute, 10 track album that sounds like it could have been recorded on someone’s back porch. The stark, rural qualities of the music and naked vocals lend themselves towards a darker lyrical vein mirrored in the title track and “Someone to be Good For.” The 10 strings of the band’s name are used sparingly throughout, generally providing atmospheric backing to reflect a gloomier, more ambient vibe.

You’ll find no speed fiddlin’ “Orange Blossom Special” moments here. Instead, Baiman (who takes the bulk of the vocals) and Sedelmyer are more concerned with using their sparse instrumentation to provide a shadowy, dusky vibe that could only emerge from the deep South. A few upbeat moments such as “Even a Dog Has Dreams” and a cover of the Bob Dylan obscurity “Mama, You Been on My Mind” help raise the mood which can get a little murky. The primitive, scratching fiddles on “Oscar’s Verdict” inject an appropriately ominous, even experimental tone to a murder ballad that results in an inconclusive end to the story.

By carving all but the most essential elements from these skeletal songs, 10 String Symphony places the emphasis on their voices and the stories. Rachel was an Illinois state fiddle champion and Christian tours with the Jerry Douglas Band, which means they can tear it up if the mood strikes them. But it doesn’t here and in scaling back, the duo brings rare intensity and veracity to material that benefits from the unembellished approach.