Review of Get Away

in fROOTS - The essential worldwide roots music guide

The Mando Mafia
Get Away Black Rose BRCD5

Let's take half a mo to ponder one of the better things about the USA-- namely that in that huge place there are great little pockets of musicians that don't tour or sell bucket-loads of albums all over the world, but whose output is at least as good, and often a lot better. Among the latter are The Mando Mafia, four Americans and an ex-pat Brit who hail from Charlottesville, Virginia, and whose fifth recording is really extremely nice.

If two mandolins and an octave mandolin as leads don't thrill you, skip this review, but the band is as tight as a very tight thing, not afraid to switch from bluegrass harmonies and riffs on old tunes such as Piney Woods Gal and Kansas City reel to French waltzes and the Santa Maria Polka, covers of The Kinks' Apeman and Pink Floyd's Brain Damage, through to some quite heavy work on the title track, one of a number of originals. It's all very good-humoured and played to perfection, and the band apparently go down a storm live; mandolinists should seek the album out particularly, but it's more than just a niche item and kept this reviewer grinning throughout--no mean feat.

Ian Keary