Album Review: Josh Teskey & Ash Grunwald - Push The Blues Away

Combining the wildly distinctive vocals of The Teskey Brothers’ Josh Teskey with the absurdly spectacular instrumental talents of Ash Grunwald, Push The Blues Away is a no bells, no whistles offering that presents the blues in a most unsullied way. 

Though songwriting duties were equal here, with the vocal stylings of both musicians peppered throughout the release, it’s not unexpected that Teskey’s penetrating voice often overpowers Grunwald’s. The Grunwald distinction is made and easily discerned by his untamed manipulation of the guitars; the mix of slide, steel and electric create wild, technical, melodies that dance cordially in a circle with Teskey’s voice.

Teskey and Grunwald do an excellent job of demonstrating that the blues is all about careful manipulation to establish variation. Take It Rained, a slow, steady ballad of limited words – the song toys with volume, rhythm and texture to give more shape to what could be argued by some naysayers as a limiting genre. The same goes for The Sky Is Crying, one of two covers on the album. It's here you’ll find a rare instance of Grunwald’s voice really holding its own against Teskey’s remarkable croon.

Stripped back and unadorned, Teskey and Grunwald have left themselves with a bare platform on which to showcase their mutual love for the style, drawing their listeners in quickly to become just as comfortable in every little stunning sonic crevice as they evidently are.