Mollybloom Bluegrass Band: Press

MB3
Mollybloom is a five member band from the Pacific Northwest consisting of Clark Blanchard (vocals and bass), Dave Dahl (guitar and vocals), Matt Gray (banjo), Ron Relaford (mandolin), and Bob Rindy (fiddle and vocals). The band's musical style can best be described as contemporarily original. In fact the bulk of the material featured in "MB3" are band numbers like "Clueless," "Dapper Dan," "It Ain't Me" and others. There are stirring arrangements of "The Old Cross Road," "Ashokan Farewell" and a medley of "Little Beggar Man" and "Lonesome Fiddle Blues." With MB3," MOLLYBLOOM HAS CREATED A MAGNIFICENT COLLECTION OF BLUEGRASS that should earn the band many new followers.

Tillamook Burn
Mollybloom is a contemporary bluegrass quintet
based in Portland, Oregon that blends a multitude of influences into a sound that is uniquely their own. 

This instantly becomes obvious on their vocal
arrangements which exude a distinct folksy flavor. On the instrumental side, Mollybloom's musical
personality has a dynamic delivery that relies heavily on the banjo of Matt Gray, the mandolin of Ron Relaford, and the fiddle and flat picking guitar of Jeff Shippy. Dave Dahl (guitar and vocals) and Clark Blanchard (bass & vocals) round out the lineup of this particular five some. 

Mollybloom's latest recording project "Tillamook
Burn, " adheres to a format similar to their debut
recording of several years ago (BU Jan 2000).  The dozen selections are practically all original pieces composed by various band members. The lone exception is an energetic version of "Old Joe Clark" which closes out the proceedings. The performances are flawlessly executed.
Jeff Shippy and Dave Dahl are Mollybloom's prime songwriters and between them they have contributed such gems as "Darlin' Molly," Faith of the Heart," "Highway Song," "Trainman," "Crooked Road," The title instrumental "Tillamook Burn" written by Matt Gray.
From every feasible point of view, "Tillamook Burn" highlights a well disciplined musical machine that is certainly not afraid to step to the forefront with fresh new material. Mollybloom is unquestionably poised and eager to introduce their own particular brand of Bluegrass to audiences far beyond their Pacific Northwest roots.

These Days
Molly Bloom is a bluegrass quintet from Oregon with a fresh sound and a number of strengths. Chief among them is a solid body of original material, principally composed by guitarist Dave Dahl and fiddler Jeff Shippy. In fact, 10 of the 14 numbers here were written by band members, always a bonus for a group looking to stand out in a crowd.

Molly Bloom also features some fine arranging skills. Little touches like the interplay of Shippy’s fiddle and Ron Relaford’s mandolin on “Round The Bend” and the mandolin and flat picked guitar (Shippy again) tradeoffs on “Hillside of Flowers” mean a lot. And there are numerous instrumental highlights throughout the album, with banjoist Matt Gray shining consistently, most notably on his own instrumental, “Too Late To Tune.” Bass guitarist Clark Blanchard also contributes a nice melodic solo reminiscent of Skyline’s Larry Cohen on the evocative “Umpqua.”

Molly Bloom’s vocals are solid without necessarily being outstanding. The main lead vocalist (not identified in the credits, unfortunately) has an unusual vocal phrasing that takes a bit of getting used to at first, and the harmonies have an influence that seems to draw more from folk music than traditional bluegrass.

All this is more descriptive than critical, however. Molly Bloom is an interesting band with a distinctive sound and a fresh body of materials---all big pluses in making a name for themselves, and “These Days” should help them spread their sound beyond the Pacific Northwest.