7 Song Album
Hound & Handler is a bluegrass trio based in Boston, MA made up of Sean Davis (Mandolin, Vocal Harmonies), Joe Everett (Bass, Vocal Harmonies) and Ross Kiah (Guitar, Lead Vocals). Their 2025 LP release I Feel It All, featuring banjo player Max Wareham, opens on a riff tinged with hope and weariness to present the title track. That tone persists throughout the song, most resonantly as Kiah sings, “I revel in the pain that tears me down”. This is the first of several earnestly narrated stories in this collection, including the incessantly catchy ballad of a youngest sister “Randi”, and the joy of making and canceling plans in “Phil Swift (Taping Up A Leak)”.
The record has two wholly instrumental tracks, “Little Oatmeal”and “Dodge & Burn”. In “Little Oatmeal”, H&H floats between sounds of warmth ranging from cozy, lived in guitar to something beachier with the addition of shaken percussion. In contrast, “Dodge & Burn” features an arrangement that moves through tension, particularly as performed by the bass and mandolin.
Not ones to shy away from the political, H&H also include “Me & Mine”, a personal favorite. The first minute of the song is only bass and vocals and as other instruments layer in, its lyrics bounce along a deceptively upbeat melody to rear a poignant commentary on our obligation to our communities and the world around us.
From the opening riff in track 1 to the cascading solos in the outro of the final track, I Feel it All is a beautiful representation of contemporary bluegrass, and it earns its praises. (Erin Morse)