Album review: 'Stranger Here Myself' 

Groveland Station

"Stranger Here Myself"

Self-released

grovelandstation.com

In defining itself, the members of Groveland Station bandy about terms like stompgrass. Now, I've never heard anything called stompgrass before. I've heard the term bluegrass; I've mowed grass; and yes, I've smoked grass. But I've never heard of stompgrass. I was intrigued.

"Vienna," the first cut on this Livingston County band's new album, "Stranger Here Myself," has the casual, forlorn lope of "St. James Infirmary." But the song ultimately fades out of the melancholy and right into a funky backbeat that kicks off its shoes and runs barefoot throughout the mix and groove.

The entirety of "Stranger Here Myself" runs around with multiple genres, including what could be considered stompgrass on the cut "Katie." Whatever you call what the band does, Groveland Station is a varied acoustic outfit with hooks around every corner, rendered by guitar, violin, mandolin, assorted percussion, bass, and even a Chapman Stick. Stompgrass rules.