Tyler Grant has built up a career as a flatpicking guitarist in the backup bands for
Adrienne Young and
April Verch, and as a member of Casey and Chris and the Two-Stringers and the Drew Emmitt Band. Here, FGM Records, the recording arm of Flatpicking Guitar magazine, gives him a chance to step out on his own, and he turns in a collection of traditional bluegrass- and old-timey-based material, writing or co-writing ten of
In the Light's 13 tunes himself.
Grant is not a speed demon, but instead has a textured style that works for the ensemble arrangements on these tracks, featuring sidemen
Casey Driessen (fiddle),
Andy Hall (dobro), Chris Henry (mandolin), and banjo players
Chris Pandolfi and
Scott Vestal. Five instrumentals are included, and
Grant proves a capable vocalist on the eight songs with lyrics. He certainly isn't breaking new territory with this release, but that is only to say he is a traditionalist in a tradition-bound genre. Instead, his first solo album proves his capability in his chosen style. ~ William Ruhlmann