Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth
“Nervion”
Western Vinyl (available via Bandcamp)
Welcome to a world where ambient music and banjo collide — finally. You didn’t know you wanted it, but you’ll want it.
Since the release of the single “Nervion,” I’ve been waiting patiently for the release of Allison de Groot’s collaborative album with guitarist Rich Ruth. It’s coming out next week on October 2 via Western Vinyl.
On paper, it’s an odd musical couple. de Groot is one of the great living banjo players; a musician who is keeping the tradition alive while moving it forward. The Canadian has received the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo. She’s studied the folk traditions and old-time sound of the instrument, incorporates it into her playing and blasts into the future with a track like “Nervion,” a sort of spacey, ambient, transfixing meditation of a tune that’s grounded by an instrument that can't help but conjure the backwoods, even though its history is far more complicated than the humbleness it exudes.
I rarely hear the banjo in this musical context and alongside this instrumentation. It’s spurred along by self-proclaimed “ambient explorer” and bitchin’ guitarist Rich Ruth and a band that includes vibraphone, synthesizers, fiddle, pedal steel, programming and, of course, banjo.
While de Groot’s banjo keeps “Nervion” grounded, Ruth adds an out-of-this-world scale and scope to the track. It’s a song that engulfs you. He’s good at that, blending prog-guitar sensibilities with spiritual jazz, post-rock and ambient elements on his excellent 2024 album “Water Still Flows,” released on Jack White’s Third Man Records. He also played a killer show there a couple years ago to a small yet dedicated crowd. It absolutely ripped.
There’s no traditional idea of a verse-chorus-verse here, so like with classical music, you can get lost in it because you’re not constantly reminded of how far along you are in the song. There’s no familial sonic markers here. It’s refreshingly new without sounding alien.
That’s the beautiful balance that de Groot and Ruth have proven they can strike together on “Nervion.” I can’t wait to hear the rest of their collaborative effort next week.
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