Music Review: Mipso

Mipso
Dark Holler Pop
???1/2
Bluegrass

Mipso needs little introduction in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, as does the group’s sophomore album Dark Holler Pop. It’s a Mipso we are familiar with, the Mipso that swoons in harmonies and sways with sensible folk narratives. It is the young, spritely bluegrass group Carolina fell in love with in its debut Long, Long Gone, and while few new doors are opened on Dark Holler Pop, it is an easy and warming listen we should come to expect from the consistently charming band.

The album is a testament that proves the music fans want to hear and the music Mipso wants to make are one in and the same. And there is little wrong with that. We want to hear Jacob Sharp and Joseph Terrell trading off lines about love’s regrets in “Tried Too Hard” or go on a ride of optimistic uncertainty with Terrell in the story of “Louise.” If this is the formula Mipso wishes to use in defining its light and reflective bluegrass, then there will be little resistance in its way — but with that, little room is left for experimentation.

Nevertheless, to claim Mipso has not added new ingredients to the mix would be unfair and untrue. The obvious change is the drop of the band’s “trio,” but also to Dark Holler Pop comes some professional help from local aficionados like Phil Cook of Megafaun and production from Mandolin Orange’s Andrew Marlin. However, these new sounds should be sharp attention grabbers instead of simple complements to a bluegrass sound that has the capacity for more nuance.

But how far does Mipso wish to stray from its majestic past? The standout “Get Out” features Terrell longing for a place beyond reach, a sequel to Long, Long Gone’s hit “Lonely Town.” Similarly, “Border Tonight” hits a lighter note, but with the same rambling themes of unrest. However, following this comes the album’s single “Carolina Calling,” an obvious tribute to the band’s birthplace and its current home. These two dichotomies highlight bluegrass and folk’s trend of being rooted in narrative and storytelling, sometimes personal and other times fictional.

So which side of Dark Holler Pop is Mipso narrating a fictional story and which is genuine? Is the band complacent where it is, or is there an undermining desire behind its music to go new places and reach new heights? It’s Mipso’s choice where it wishes to take its harmonies, but for now we can appreciate having the group back to scratch the bluegrass itch.

— Charlie Shelton