I, for one, did not have “krautrock-psych banjo record” on my bingo list this year. Nor did I expect such a record to be one of the best records I’ve heard in 2026 so far.
Allison de Groot (an award-winning clawhammer banjo player) and Rich Ruth’s (a. multi-instrumentalist and producer of minimalist, ambient, and synthwave) self-titled album is lovely, trippy, and mesmerizing. As the story goes, Ruth was going to produce a solo album for de Groot, but the two of them began composing together not long after the recording process started.
Lead single and track “Nervion” immediately lets you know this won’t be a folk record or a bluegrass record. It’s something otherworldly. Heck, “New Intervention” could be an alien transmission for all I know. de Groot’s banjo often sounds like a harp while Ruth creates soundscapes around her like what a robot farmer might listen to upon booting up and drinking a hot cup of machine oil before tending to the chickens. “Bass Crust” and “10-14” have some traditional banjo work in them, but also lots of weird synth sounds and motorik beats (and screams?) to increase the fascination.
Birdsong blends with banjo on “Distance from Then” for the first minute or so and then the tracks expands (blooms?) into a floating, sometimes playful ambient track that shifts your perception. “Sorgin” is straight-up synthwave, and I’m all here for it. You’ll hear de Groot “shredding” on “Rocks from the Moon” as he puts down a hypnotic rhythm and Ruth’s synths and guitar become swirling mist around her.
The closing track, “A Wizard and a Stork,” not only has the coolest name of all the tracks (It sounds like something The Sword might have come up with one night while playing D&D.), it also has the most expansive sound on the album. It grows with each chord, emerging like a sunrise.
It’s a fascinating record and one that I’ll probably give to at least a couple people for Christmas this year. Don’t miss it.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Western Vinyl.]
