Since forming in 2009, Carrboro’s Mandolin Orange has grown in most every respect. They’ve shifted from an earnest bluegrassy duo to a more mature outfit that handles full-band finesse as easily as simple duo songs. They’ve moved up and up through bigger local rooms and toured internationally.
It was five years ago Tuesday that the band played the release party for their first LP, Quiet Little Room, at Chapel Hill’s 250-capacity Local 506. On Saturday, the band celebrates LP number four, Such Jubilee, at the 1,400-seat Memorial Hall on UNC’s campus.
For the occasion, we’ve culled some of Mandolin Orange’s top tunes. Newbies, consider this your primer. Old fans, take the time to dig back in to some favorites.
“Where The Mockingbird Sings”
From their first self-titled EP, released in 2009, “Where The Mockingbird Sings” is a straight-up bluegrass number. It’s basic and sweet. But the EP offered a good start for the duo, laying the groundwork for the excellent folk tunes to come. This was a crowd favorite for a while at shows, too.
“Life on a String”
Mandolin Orange’s 2010 full-length debut, Quiet Little Room, was occasionally wobbly but nonetheless a good first record. The band’s strength has long been its vocal harmonies, and they showed that off for this number, one of the most confident tunes on Quiet Little Room and a demonstration of the duo’s underlying potential.
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“These Old Wheels”
Here, Marlin takes stock of the sounds of life’s simple pleasures: birds in the morning, the sound of fresh coffee brewing, summer crickets. “‘I love you’ in that dry morning tone,” he sings.
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