“Hickory Robot’s music isn’t easy to categorize. On the surface, they appear to be a bluegrass quartet, and have a number of original songs that fit comfortably in that genre. A deeper listen, however, reveals those songs to be infused with hooks and arrangements more commonly found in pop and rock music. Most of their original material blends together seemingly disparate elements such as country, jazz, and even classical, into what ultimately sounds only like Hickory Robot music. 

The songwriting is split between guitarist Jim Pelz and mandolinist Scott Carnder. Pelz, who earlier in his career was a touring jazz trombonist before focusing on the guitar, brings a lyrical brand of storytelling and a sophisticated harmonic sense to his songs that engages the listener on multiple levels. His guitar playing complements his writing with a unique and fluid sound devoid of the usual picker’s clichés.

Carnder, who prior to Robot was best known as a jam-band bassist, writes songs that often have a sense of playfulness and bittersweet nostalgia about them, sometimes within the same tune. Perhaps due to his years spent in the rhythm section, his approach to mandolin sounds fresh, suggesting new possibilities of what the instrument’s role can be in this setting.

And though both writers sing their material with authenticity and soul, it’s the captivating vocals of fiddler Lauren Schloemer that entrance the listener from the first. A natural singer of great dynamic range and emotional depth, she takes the songs of Carnder and Pelz and makes them her own. Add to this her expressive and adventurous fiddle-playing, and you’ve got one of the best front-women to come along in a while.

Bassist Mike Georgin, a longtime Cincinnati music veteran completes the lineup, utilizing both acoustic upright and electric fretless bass. It’s Georgin’s electric work in particular that draws attention to itself, percolating with chords, slides, and counter-melodies that provide not only a striking foundation for the rest of the band, but another superb soloist as well.

Hickory Robot has created a body of music - whether you call it Bluegrass, Newgrass, Alt-grass, Americana, or Roots - that continues to expand in its scope and reach.  They continue to grow numbers of devoted listeners, and their music continues to reveal the extraordinary depth and talent of this remarkable quartet.”