Fable and Fire (Tanyard Branch Music, 2021) is the debut solo album from Andrew Marlin, the mandolinist and songwriter best known as co-founder of the duo Mandolin Orange (later renamed Watchhouse). Marlin plays mandolin throughout; Josh Oliver contributes acoustic guitar, piano, and twelve-string guitar; Jordan Tice plays guitar and bouzouki; Christian Sedelmyer plays fiddle; and Clint Mullican holds the bass. Working outside the duo context, Marlin explores a more varied sonic palette and grants himself space for extended instrumental passages that the Watchhouse format rarely allowed. The album's compositions range from gentle impressionistic pieces to rhythmically urgent string-band material, and the performances reflect the trust among musicians who had frequently worked together as sidemen, collaborators, and ensemble members across multiple projects in the preceding years.
Tracklist
- 1 Stormy Point / Back of Beyond / The Seamstress 10:49
- 2 Erie Fiddler Source Recording 3:03
- 3 Salter Path / Throes of Night 6:52
- 4 The Jaybird 4:14
- 5 Farewell to Holly Bluff / The Watch House 5:05
- 6 Oxcart Man 3:17
- 7 Leeward Shore / Crooked Road to Bracey 5:23
- 8 Fable & Fire 4:21
- 9 Nights of Wesley 2:49
- 10 Old Pine Box 3:17
