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.” Continue reading »