Universal Favorite
Universal Favorite uses just one musician while leaving plenty of room for variety. Noam Pikelny plays without a backing band and now sings too. His banjo and guitars need not constantly sound fast or complicated. Melody, the tone of a picked note and the silence around it matter just as much.
Waveland opens with moving, continuous figures. Notes can follow quickly, but the melody keeps flowing. It immediately shows that a solo record need not feel confined. Pikelny gives the banjo enough colour to offer more than rhythmic support.
Sugar Maple and Redbud explore that melodic side further. The first uses more complicated harmonies; the second has a calm that needs little support. These instrumentals balance skill with a recognisable mood of their own.
The singing gives the album another character. Pikelny has a low, plain voice that suits Old Banjo. On Josh Ritter's Folk Bloodbath, he presents events without much emphasis. That restraint can be affecting, although the cover feels less adventurous than his own instrumental writing.
The Great Falls shifts attention towards the earthy sound of his guitar. The traditional Sweet Sunny South uses that different colour to give the melancholy greater weight. Pikelny need not make his voice large to convey a sense of loss.
The difference between songs and instrumentals remains audible. Anyone mainly seeking inventive banjo playing will not find every cover equally exciting. The small setting nevertheless keeps the music personal and direct. Universal Favorite shows how much Pikelny can achieve through a clear melody, good timing and close attention to sound, without needing other players to fill the space.
