Ain’t No Slowing Down Greensky Bluegrass On Triumphant ‘Stress Dreams’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Over the past twenty years, Greensky Bluegrass has seen it all. Thanks to a rigorous nationwide touring schedule that has resulted in nearly two-thousand live performances to date and garnered widespread critical acclaim, along with a notoriously rabid fanbase, these progressive-bluegrass trailblazers have persevered, earning their spot amongst the preeminent live touring acts in the country today. 

So, of course, it was no surprise that even a global pandemic wasn’t enough to hamper this stalwart quintet as the group successfully used their time off the road to cultivate & ultimately record a strong and cohesive collection of material, resulting in the group’s eighth full-length studio effort, Stress Dreams.

Following up their Billboard-charting 2019 release, All for Money, Stress Dreams started off as a series of electronically shared memos and voice notes during the beginning of 2020, eventually germinating into two separate recording sessions several months later, the first at Echo Mountain Studios in Ashville, NC followed up by a run at Guilford Sound in Guilford, VT. Enlisting the production help of Dominic John Davis (who moonlights as Jack White’s touring & studio bassist) and Grammy-winning producer Glenn Brown, the band took advantage of their relaxed schedule to focus on developing new material. 

“It didn’t feel like we were squeezing this project into the schedule,” explains bassist Mike Devol. “The lack of gigs gave us the freedom to get together solely to work on this. It was a relaxed environment. There wasn’t the pressure of time; the songs got space to breathe.”

Mandolinist Paul Hoffman elaborates. “For all of our records, we always take more time to explore and experiment. We finished ideas and kept going, thinking everything all the way through. We really put energy into each specific song and made it the best it could be.”

This relaxed approach pays off admirably and has an immediate impact with the album’s opening track, “Absence of Reason.” Referred to by the group as a “positive creative experiment”, this J.J. Cale-influenced number features some psychedelic dobro-work from Anders Beck along with Hoffman’s trademark dark & brooding vocal delivery that perfectly accentuates the lyrics’ self-reflective subject matter. 

Up next is one of the album’s surprise highlights, “Monument”, as it marks Beck’s first lyrical contribution since joining the group in 2008. Co-written with singer-songwriter Chris Gelbuda, “Monument” offers up an introspective look at the fragility of life in a post-COVID world bolstered by an incredibly catchy chorus that is crawling with earworms. “This song is essentially about what it was like to have my life, career, and world slammed to a halt by the Covid-19 pandemic,” explains Beck. “It was really emotionally shocking to have everything we’ve worked for and built ripped out of our hands almost overnight. With all of that in mind, we decided that the musical vibe of the song should take on the air of the first song that we would want to play when we get back on stage in front of thousands of people dancing and partying in a field at a festival… I think we got pretty close!”

Another moody Hoffman-penned track, “Until I Sing”, is followed up by the album’s standout moment, “Stress Dreams”. Inspired by actual pandemic-infused stress dreams that Devol was having, this song features an appealing 6/8-time signature in addition to some breathtaking work from pianist, and frequent collaborator, Holly Bowling, whose subtle background playing adds a layer of drama & tension sorely missing from the remainder of the record.

The album’s mid-section is held together by Hoffman’s quirky gem “Give a Shit” along with Dave Bruzza’s “Streetlight”, the latter of which offers up a guardedly optimistic look at life from the guitarist’s narrative and was co-written with songwriter Aaron Allen, who also contributed to several tracks on Greensky’s previous release, All for Money. 

The remainder of Stress Dreams mostly features material that has yet to make its live debut as of this writing, but will surely translate well to the live medium, particularly with upbeat tracks like “Cut a Tooth”, which showcases the blistering fret-work of banjoist Michael Bont, as well as “New & Improved”, a humorous Devol offering that portrays a charmingly misguided man’s attempt to win back a lost love supported by some impressive instrumental work from the entire ensemble. 

The album’s penultimate track, “Grow Together”, also ranks among the LP’s highlights thanks to Hoffman’s intimate vocals and some impressive musicianship from Messrs. Bruzza and Beck. The lyrics themselves also add significant weight as they stand among the most personal Hoffman has ever composed. “It was the first tune I had written in a really long time,” he explains. “My daughter was just born. When she was five weeks old, I sat down on the floor with her and spit this one out. It was an appreciation for my wife and what it meant to become a father. I had never been so moved in the studio as I was when we recorded it. A lot of my songs have come from an open place of serious personal emotions, but this one was different. Instead of fighting against weakness and pain, it’s romantic, happy, heartfelt, and uplifting.”

Armed with infectious melodies, insightful lyrics, and profound instrumentation, Stress Dreams perfectly exemplifies, once again, why Greensky Bluegrass is heralded as one of the most important & influential bands of the modern progressive-bluegrass era and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.