by Buck Curran

American music is alive and well with the release of the Black Twig Picker’s latest, Ironto Special, out now on Thrill Jockey Records.  For me, the Black Twigs (Mike Gangloff, Isak Howell, and Nathan Bowles) are an important part of what keeps real American music alive and vital…  in an age that seems to proliferate possibly the most soulless and mechanical music ever created (can you even call it music?) these guys wield their gritty musical axe, standing tall in today’s musical landscape.

Following closely on the heels of their last record, the essential Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers, Ironto Special saws, stomps and swings, and the trio, armed with fiddle, banjo, washboard, bones, and voices, serve up some damn hot numbers. Continue reading →