When people ask me why Americana music exists, I usually answer by telling them that the ideal Americana artist manages to be simultaneously austere and virtuosic — by being, paradoxically, both rootsy and pop-friendly. These seemingly contradictory impulses power Nashville Americana duo 10 String Symphony’s brightly austere readings of material by such pop-folk tunesmiths as Townes Van Zandt, Loudon Wainwright III and Bob Dylan on their 2012 self-titled debut and its follow-up, 2015’s Weight of the World. Nashville five-string fiddle aces Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer create minimalist quasi-pop, complete with drones and stark melodies that don’t add much warmth to their interpretations. Being a fan of minimalism myself, I find Baiman and Sedelmyer’s reading of Dylan’s “Mama, You Been on My Mind” a bit dry, but I think that’s because their music is essentially experimental. The tricky instrumental parts mesh with the austere moments, and that’s Americana. EDD HURT
10 String Symphony
