Sometimes you need to take a break from trawling out your insides just to feel something. At least that’s how I am (musically!) Alan Barnosky’s Old Freight does the trick — a classic-sounding folk and bluegrass album that features some beautiful flat-picking and serene hobo songs. If there’s one thing that comes through clearly in this album, it’s that Barnosky is unambivalent about the troubadour’s life — it might be lonely sometimes, but he loves it.
The album reminds me of older Old Crow Medicine Show: a focus on songs and harmony with some truly beautiful mandolin trills and an effortlessness to making this type of music feel current. Barnosky gets playful, too. “I Heart Mountains” sounds like a love song inspired by a long road trip reverie. Old Freight serves as a reminder to slow down and take some time to appreciate the old ways: there’s a reason they endure.
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