Armchair Boogie - Hard Times & Deadlines (2024) Hi-Res

Armchair Boogie, Madison, Wisconsin. Independently Releases 4th Studio Recording Hard Times & Deadlines. Jamgrass, newgrass, funkgrass, whatever you want to call it—Armchair Boogie is rapidly becoming one of the country’s hottest acts. Armchair Boogie offers a funked up spin on bluegrass with their unconventional lineup of drums and electric bass backing acoustic/electric guitar and banjo. With an unbounded sound, this Wisconsin-based quartet is known for their powerful harmonies, timeless originals, and choice covers, along with their enthusiastic live performances.

Hard Times & Deadlines, their fourth studio album, is available now. The ten original songs that make up this collection were recorded and mixed by Jeffrey Peterson at Lunar Lava Audio in Fort Atkinson, WI and mastered by Collin Jordan. With Hard Times & Deadlines they want to help you boogie down in your living room, your car, on your phone, or wherever you listen to music when you're not at a show.

Armchair Boogie is Augie Dougherty on banjo and Ben Majeska acoustic and electric guitars backed by tight, driving rhythms of Eli Frieders on electric bass and Denzel Connor on drums. This high energy quartet has been on the rise in the festival and bluegrass music communitie since their formation in 2015, after meeting and forming on the front porch of their college home of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. The members all moved to Madison around 2017, releasing their debut album in 2018. Much of the material for this album was written during the early days of the pandemic and reflects their passion in managing life's realities while also allowing room for nostalgic toasts and memories. A band on the verge, the good word of the Boogie continues to spread like wildfire.

This interesting upbeat conglomeration of rollicking banjo work comes consistently with a whip snap recorded in Wisconsin. Not exactly a place where funk & bluegrass originated but it’s there. The playing by the Armchair Boogie is exceptional, but the vocals can be quirky. Sounds like somebody’s Uncle who works down by the service station. But I guess that’s what happens when you sing with a modicum of joy & charm in your voice.

Both lead-off tracks “Hard Times,” & “Livin’” are fuel-injected, gutsy & lively creations with some humorous lyrics that take a back seat to the fiery performance of the fast & loose musicians. “Boneyard,” even has an early 60s song humor & sounds like an outtake from Dante & the Evergreens after they recorded their hit “Alley-Oop.” But nothing on this CD is novelty-oriented. Oh no…

They’re not exactly the Grateful Dead in tradition but do have that jam ability & they smoke the way the Dead going full bore. Jerry Garcia would’ve liked these guys. The tunes are all well-arranged & come down to one big factor: fun.

They have several musical traits — jam-grass, new-grass, funk-grass but what they are is simply good. A quartet known for sparks & energy; they get themselves across with vigor. If they don’t poke your ears with a feather, you’ll be impressed by the fun they generate as they perform their 10 diverse & never predictable assault on your tender ears.