• Courtesy
• Dave O, Schoolhouse Sessions

(Self-released, digital)

I wish there were catalogs for senses. That way, you could look up "lavender" and experience its scent, or look up "loons on a lake" and hear their call. If a catalog for sounds existed and you looked up "Vermont bluegrass," I think you might hear Dave O's latest record, Schoolhouse Sessions.

This is not to say the album is generic but, rather, that it is exemplary. It has all the ingredients one would expect of an album of this genre: acoustic rhythm guitar, picking mandolin solos, viola and violin strings creating a warmth and texture, and lyrics about rivers, fireflies, love and sipping whiskey by the fire. From the musicianship to the production, Schoolhouse Sessions is a fine example of what bluegrass music from the Green Mountain State can be.

The 10-track album is Dave O's second solo effort. He plays guitar and sings on all the tracks, and he recruited accomplished local musicians to accompany him, including Matt Hecklinger on mandolin, Caleb Elder on viola and violin, and former Flat Top Trio bandmates Jeff Thompson and Jeremy Sicely on bass and on guitar and dobro, respectively.

In an email to Seven Days, Dave O described Schoolhouse Sessions as "a retrospective account of a long-distance relationship I experienced filled with highs and lows." The tracks reflect those highs and lows, full of lyrics about love and love lost.

"Fireflies and Moonbows" is a high. Dave O describes dreamy Vermont scenes such as being barefoot by a river or sitting on the tailgate of a truck and sharing a beer, before singing nostalgically, "Those are some of the best times I've ever known."

By contrast, "Liars and Thieves" is a low. "I packed up all your letters and your rocks and your things, / and I sent them off to you hoping I could be free, / but my heart rolled over thinking of you and me, / and now I'm just lost and feeling empty," he sings over melancholy, yearning strings. The vulnerability Dave O exhibits in his reflections contributes to the record's authenticity, which can be felt both in its sounds and its lyrics. Schoolhouse Sessions' classic bluegrass sound is not forced. The way the musicians play off each other is so effortless that it can be easy to dismiss the talent required to create such seamless instrumentation.

If there is a critique to be made of the album, it's that there are no surprises here. Schoolhouse Sessions is a relatively predictable collection of songs. The saying "high risk, high reward" comes to mind; exemplary though the record is, Dave O might find it worth pushing the boundaries on his next project to take his music to the next level.

Schoolhouse Sessions is on all major streaming platforms. Catch Dave O playing live on Wednesday, July 12, at Crooked Ladle Catering in Middlebury.