Straight-shooting stringband The Bucking Mules deliver American old-time music at its pure and joyous best. Smoke Behind the Clouds features 17 mostly traditional songs treated with the Mules’ characteristic throw-down groove. The band cut their teeth in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia through extensive time spent with old 78s and elder master musicians from the region. The result is a group of well-studied musicians who know how to bust down on a fiddle tune, belt an old song, and move square dancers. On Smoke Behind the Clouds, the Mules traverse the traditional musical landscape of the Cumberland Plateau, the Tennessee River, the Blue Ridge, and beyond. Favoring spirit and simplicity over pretense, Smoke Behind the Clouds distills a reverence of the past into a driving, heartfelt record tailored for contemporary fans of folk, old time, bluegrass, and more.