A new generation of artists have begun to redefine – or even invent – an art form with modern movements in acoustic music. Instrumental duo Small Town Therapy thrives on spontaneous creative moments, where artists’ ingenuity aligns and inspired music results. In their work, Dreams and Circumstances, the duo shows its avant-garde style with compelling compositions and virtuosic improvisation.
Featuring Leif Karlstrom and Adam Roszkiewicz, two members of the award-winning progressive roots band Front Country, Small Town Therapy creates genre-bending music that’s a blend of cerebral acoustic jazz and classical-influenced original compositions.
“We often combine through-composed bits with structured or free improvisation, and that’s definitely happening in these compositions,” says Karlstrom. “There is a musical arc and story but also the chance for something unexpected to happen – a chance for spontaneous musical moments, which pretty well sums up what Small Town Therapy is about.”
Largely focused on the two’s principle instruments – Karlstrom on violin and Roszkiewicz on mandolin and guitar, the duo is joined on select tracks by fellow accomplished musicians: Lyndsay Pruett and John Mailander on violin, Eli West on guitar and octave mandolin and Ethan Jodziewicz on prepared bass.
Dreams and Circumstances includes a three-track, multi-movement work for mandolin and violin. It begins with Small Town Therapy’s initial single release, “Cimarrón,” followed by “The Square and Compass” and concluding with “You Can’t Blame the Eighties.” Meant to be listened to in sequence, these selections journey through a dynamic atmosphere that is both visceral and cerebral.
The duo’s ability to unfold and evolve mood in this way is at the heart of their work – a work that creates emotion that springs from performances on this album and is communicated to its listener.