Andy Thorn is best known as the banjo player for Leftover Salmon. This project gained steam when a video of him jamming to an attentive (wild) fox went viral. But this is no bloated, excessive cash-in project. Rather, it's an intimate set of tightly-arranged banjo-led instrumentals.

Andy Thorn Songs of the Sunrise Fox (self-released)

And while these songs have jam-band progressions in them, the feel is much more bluegrass. When Thorn plays in the high ranges the sound is very much like a mandolin, and his light touch on the banjo keeps these pieces bright and airy.

Complicated? Not really. Thorn is an inventive player, but he doesn't muddy his songs with pyrotechnics. Even his runs sound off-the-cuff and approachable. And while he does have accompaniment on many of these pieces, the banjo-only songs are where this set really takes off.

Thorn doesn't make a big deal about anything here, and that's the secret to this album's charm. Totally unpretentious and effortlessly engaging. Quite the thrill.

Jon Worley