Self-released

Contemporary bluegrass bands aren’t known for great studio albums – they’re known for great shows. With Handguns, Michigan quintet Greensky Bluegrass shoots that notion dead. The 14-track set is as expertly played as it is gorgeously written, hitting a sweet spot between Yonder Mountain String Band’s get-em-movin’ picking and the warm, folk-rock melodies of The Decemberist’s Colin Meloy. It’s a please-all record: enough whirlwind strings for the bluegrass fans and enough slowed-down heartbreak, beautiful tunes and cranked-up distortion to reel in the rock and folk crowds. That’s a risky move – ‘grass heads tend to be purists – but one listen to seven-minute stunner “Lose My Way” will hush any naysayers. “If this was anything like something I’ve known, I may still lose my way,” crows mandolinist Paul Hoffman. While listening to this confident, slow-burning album, it’s clear that Greensky Bluegrass knows exactly where to go.