Swinging as hard as an out of control drunk stumbling out of the bar after last call in “Rocky Road Blues,” crushing a dexterous harmony in “The Rat Race” or unfurling a dark melodicism in the country-style title track of their debut album All Of These Years, Steve Thomas & The Time Machine are a band on a mission to groove this season.
Armed with an ear for experimentalism and elements of pop, country, jazz and roots music on top of the sleek bluegrass blueprint they follow religiously, Steve Thomas & The Time Machine go out of their way to distinguish themselves as individuals in All Of These Years. There are no synthetic props, halfhearted poeticisms nor inelegant melodic faceting to get past in order to enjoy the narrative in songs like “Lucky Man,” “Daddy’s Twin I-beam,” “My Heart Is Always Headed Back To You,” “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart” or “The Moon Over Georgia.” We aren’t forced to split our attention between the components of “Far Far Cry,” “Down In The Wildwood” or “I Wonder Where You Are Tonight.” This record is all meat and no fat, which isn’t something that I’ve been coming across with much success on the mainstream end of the spectrum this year.
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The title track, “Far Far Cry” and “Lucky Man” are all sporting a lot of compositional contrast, but I will say that the flow here is really awesome from start to finish. Steve Thomas leads this band into the blistering rhythm of songs like “The Rat Race” as though he were merely stacking up a club sandwich; his swagger isn’t as intimidating as it is impressive, and he never really comes across as being overly possessive of the spotlight at all. There’s not quite as much bass presence as I would have liked in “I Wonder Where You Are Tonight” and “Moon Over Georgia,” but I can also appreciate the concept that Thomas and his time traveling group of artists were trying to employ in these two songs. If any portion of the material on this LP was born out of a live jam – which I would absolutely believe – keeping the instrumental EQ on the lean and mean side was the best choice for the studio recordings, particularly in preserving the eclectic, almost smoky tonality of the music.
I’ve been a big bluegrass fan for years and I can definitely vouch for the authenticity of Steve Thomas & The Time Machine in their new album All Of These Years. It’s definitely the most experimental record of its kind released in 2020 thus far, and though it’s undeniably an anti-establishment offering meant to mix traditional bluegrass with a number of external influences, it doesn’t play out like an avant-garde LP at all. The current generation of music fans coming up through the ranks is far more discriminating and progressive-minded than any to come before them were, and in this way, a band like Steve Thomas & The Time Machine could actually make for a good match with young listeners. Bluegrass needs a hero to keep its legacy alive, and at the moment, this group is playing that part wonderfully.
Troy Johnston