Old Salt Union once again enlisted GRAMMY-winning banjoist and Compass co-founder Alison Brown to produce the follow-up to their self-titled Compass Records debut. The resulting album, WHERE THE DOGS DON't BITE, builds on this non-traditional stringband's varied musical backgrounds for a wildly entertaining, eclectic batch of songs. The quintet Ryan Murphy (banjo), Justin Wallace (mandolin), John Brighton (violin), Jesse Farrar (primary vocalist and bassist) and newest member Graham Curry (guitar) have continued to hone and develop their sound through relentless touring, cultivating a steadfast fanbase drawn to their high-energy shows. Coming from varied musical backgrounds, Old Salt Union's collective melting pot of styles and musical vocabularies informs their fresh approach to modern string band music and has helped to carve a unique niche for this Belleville, Illinois roots outfit. Farrar, nephew of Son Volt's Jay Farrar, kicks off the album with "God You Don't Need,' a hook laden ode to a relationship gone bad set against a tapestry of strings and an eerily compelling banjo melody. Label mate Bobby Osborne guests on "Tells Me So,' a nod to the bluegrass side of the band's musical sensibilities featuring a lead vocal by mandolinist Justin Wallace. Violinist Brighton delivers the gypsy-tinged instrumental "Johann's Breakdown,' which pulls from jazz and classical progressions, and Wallace delivers the haunting title track, "Where The Dogs Don't Bite.' The dark, but heartfelt song features triple-layered guitar harmonies, stacked vocals and a group sing-along that recalls last call at a corner pub in the rust belt, a fitting closing to this musically diverse and compelling release.

As described in our Privacy Policy, we collect personal information from your interactions with us and our website, including through cookies and similar technologies. We may also share this personal information with third parties, including advertising partners. We do this in order to show you ads on other websites that are more relevant to your interests and for other reasons outlined in our privacy policy.

Sharing of personal information for targeted advertising based on your interaction on different websites may be considered "sales", "sharing", or "targeted advertising" under certain U.S. state privacy laws. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to opt out of these activities. If you would like to exercise this opt-out right, please follow the instructions below.

If you visit our website with the Global Privacy Control opt-out preference signal enabled, depending on where you are, we will treat this as a request to opt-out of activity that may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information or other uses that may be considered targeted advertising for the device and browser you used to visit our website.