Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves's self-titled debut album is a powerful opening statement. The album not only showcases the duo's impressive musicianship, but is a reflection on which voices people seek to hear as they explore the expansive, diverse canon of American roots music.

For as long as it's existed, the American roots music industry has co-opted Black music into a package to be marketed and resold, defanging or erasing perspectives deemed too threatening along the way. Banjo player and fiddler Jake Blount resurrects these deep musical strains on his debut record. Named for Anansi-the great trickster of Akan mythology, it features fourteen carefully chosen tracks drawn from Blount's extensive research of Black and...