Big Leaf Linden distinguishes itself on this album with an amalgam of hard, country and folk rock appealing to the retro-minded jam band followers and fans of the current bucolic indie vogue. It's all delivered with guitars traversing the breadth from The James Gang to My Morning Jacket and Gov’t Mule, with vocals recalling Joe Walsh and The Byrds' Roger McGuinn (via Tom Petty). Occasional use of mandolin and lap steel recall that time from the late '60s to early '70s when such instruments could be used in a pop context without necessarily invoking the homey sparkle of Nashville. At this rate, Big Leaf Linden could be Wisconsin's greatest contribution to aggro-rural musicality since The .357 String Band.
Big Leaf Linden perform at Fire on Water on Friday, May 24.
