Sarah Jarosz is not what you might expect. She is a prodigy in a genre that appeals to child prodigies. A child prodigy's first bluegrass album tends to be a flashy demonstration of instrumental skill with relatively ordinary compositions and arrangements. Jarosz is as un-flashy a player as you are likely to hear. She rarely cuts loose with a jaw-dropping display of instrumental skill, preferring a minimalist approach. The arrangements, too, are stripped-down, allowing the listener to appreciate the subtle interplay between just a few sympathetic musicians. The compositions themselves are far more advanced than what most musicians several times Jarosz's age can write, combining old-time, Celtic and blues with distinctly modern rhythms. Most surprising, though, is Jarosz's voice. Most kids show their age when they sing. Personally, I am not a fan of overly-clean singing voices, particularly in bluegrass, and most young women Jarosz's age who sing have saccharine voices. I will use an "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" comparison because I expect that most readers will get the reference: Jarosz is far closer to Gillian Welch (one of my favorite musicians of all time) than to Alison Krauss (another former child prodigy). Her voice is a bit lower than most female singers (particularly her age), and has just the right amount of weather-beaten quality that a bluegrass singer needs. She also eschews the excessive vibrato that some young and gifted singers fall into the pit of using. In short, Jarosz is the most promising young bluegrass musician to arrive on the scene in years.
There is an obvious temptation to compare Jarosz to Nickel Creek, a group of child prodigies with progressive bluegrass sensibilities. However, I strongly prefer Jarosz's darker voice to that of Sara Watkins, and Jarosz relies more on roots styles than modern indie rock, as Nickel Creek did on their second two albums. The other obvious point of comparison would be Alison Krauss, who showed up on the bluegrass scene to similar acclaim many years ago as a child prodigy with strong instrumental skills and an appealing voice. Again, though, the soulful darkness in Jarosz's voice, which permeates her compositions as well, sets her apart. For me, the only real comparison is Tim O'Brien. O'Brien is probably my favorite bluegrass singer. His raspy but perfectly-controlled voice is ideal for the genre, and he is a versatile, expressive multi-instrumentalist who never over-plays. Jarosz is well-positioned to become the Tim O'Brien of her generation, with a perfectly-imperfect voice, multi-instrumental skills, compositional maturity, and genre-crossing sensibilities.
Further listening:
Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott, Real Time. This album is the perfect, stripped-down bluegrass album with great singing, and subtle, un-flashy instrumental work.
Gillian Welch, Hell Among the Yearlings. All of Welch's albums are outstanding, but I am particularly fond of Hell Among the Yearlings these days. Welch is closer to old-time country than bluegrass, but Jarosz is barely bluegrass anyway.
Dave Rawlings Machine, A Friend of a Friend. Welch's guitarist just put out an outstanding album. His voice isn't nearly as impressive as Jarosz's or Welch's, but the music is wonderful.