Sporting a name that inevitably reminds me of condiments, Mustered Courage are Australia’s answer to the recent “newgrass” movement, claiming on their Myspace to be “born to bridge a gap between traditional bluegrass music and the Australian alternative music scene.” Following in the footsteps of string-heavy groups like the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons, M.C. eschews a drummer and prominently features traditional country instruments like the mandolin and banjo, with the latter of these doing some of the heavy lifting in the band’s cover of Seal‘s hit “Kiss from a Rose.”
While the scarred soul singer’s career has dropped off since 1996 when this song won a Song of the Year Grammy, Mustered Courage shows that, even recontextualized and stripped of its dreamy production, this song retains its infectious catchiness. While it’s a tricky cover to pull off because of Seal’s unique vocal timbre, Vocalist/Banjo player Nick Keeling lives up to the challenge with his confident performance. While the bluegrass accompaniment sounds pretty much how one would expect it to, the vocals make it worth multiple listens. Check out the video below.
Check out more from Mustered Courage on their Myspace.
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