The man is in this country so far only connoisseurs of US bluegrass scene known. Jeff Austin for 20 years, a professional musician and was most of that time singer and mandolin player of YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND. With The Simple Truth, he gives a deeper insight into his musical preferences and has brought other musical border crossers as reinforcement for implementation. The Jeff Austin band consists of a core of Danny Barnes (BAD LIVERS), banjo, guitar and vocals, Ross Martin (guitar), Eric Thorin (bass and vocals) and Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) on drums, percussion and electric washboard together. The studio recordings were still, supplemented by guest posts as scattered Bläsersätze. Jeff opens widely in these shots toward pop and rock. The result of the cooperation is always stimulating when he balanced the relationship between roots music and mainstream.
This works when Brass rock / bluegrass hybrid Simple Truth and the good-humored Fiddle-pop of Fiddling Around. In addition, the country rockers 15 Steps, in the ballads Falling Stars and Scrapbook Pages and the Bluegrass Pop of Run Down. If the pop influence out of hand, however, as with lard deep end track Over And Over, dry, one-dimensional Gatlin Gun, the brisk country-pop What The Night Brings or frantically trimmed on Modern Pop Shake Me Up, then it is arbitrary and interchangeable ,
Jeff Austin makes a big barrel and moves partially to areas where he is not well versed. He wants to make music stylistically open but its roots not deny. At the same time possible to be opened up to new audiences. This balancing act is not always succeeds and so the ambiguous impression this first-class musician does not do justice.
