They say that opposites attract. So I can see how Josh Feinberg (upright bass) and Brian Oberlin (mandolin, vocals) would be interested in a musical collaboration to provide sensory stimulation with high, low, short, long, fast, slow, quiet, loud, smooth, edgy, fleeting and sustained sounds.  These are merely tangible dualities or physical manifestations of the quality music on “Onward.”

Over half of this album offers original compositions, each with their own personalities. Depending on the track, I found myself occasionally adjusting the equalization on my stereo system to find just the right balance of bass and treble to please my own ears. On Oberlin’s “Jacktown,” for example, I pulled the bass down a few notches. On Feinberg’s “Jig,” I boosted the low end a tad.

“Onward” is one of two tracks with Oberlin’s vocals, and he sings of finding place within time and space. It’s a fitting message that even reinforces the album’s concept and theme.  “The Bluest of Skies” was written by both artists and is an intricate musical conversation of melodies, hues, calls and responses.  The consummate artists evoke varying shades within their own playing too by incorporating different techniques such as bass bowing and mandolin tremolo. “Jacktown” has a little more snapping bass percussive effect than I would have preferred, and I was impressed by the regular and continuous string pull-offs in Oberlin’s “Pulga Arremessa” (Flea Flicker). That tune is full of pluck.

Four classical pieces from Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky are interspersed throughout the album, and they offer the listener a certain degree of familiarity but with fresh and new interpretive twists. “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is a good choice for the album’s closer.                      

Feinberg and Oberlin’s “Onward” project channels their musical yin yang. These Chinese concepts describe how forces that appear opposite or contrary are actually complementary, interconnected and interdependent in the natural world. Feinberg and Oberlin give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another and create stimulating music together. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)