SCI Fidelity Records

While The Contribution is comprised of an all-star group of newgrass musicians – Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth), Phil Ferlino and Jeff Miller (New Monsoon), and Jason Hann and Keith Moseley (The String Cheese Incident) – its debut Which Way World unfortunately leaves something to be desired. All five musicians have long proven their virtuosity, but here they rely mostly on material like country-rocker “Fear of Nothing” and nostalgia-evoking “Time Was Only Yesterday.” The title track and the closing track are clear standouts providing the energy and spirit that the rest of the album lacks – jammy bluegrass with reflective lyrics alongside sweeping fiddle and mandolin featuring Carbone who takes a more passive role than one would expect throughout. On the whole, the album comes off as quickly recorded Americana and doesn’t sound like more than the sum of its parts.