2010-02-25
This Boston-based band takes a bluegrass foundation and adds innovation in both songwriting and musicianship. At times, the cuts seem "old-timey," like the Gary, Indiana* radio station WJKS, from when comes the band's name (cf. "New Shoes" and "We Will Have Our Day"). In other moments, the break from the expected brings added interest and depth (cf. title track, "All the Buildings"). The group is kind of an "acoustic all-star" configuration: the mandolin player is the first-ever graduate from the prestigious Berklee School of Music on that instrument; the guitarist has a "flatpicking championship" under his belt; the primary lyricist is a John Lennon Songwriting Award winner; and the main vocalist won a national Canadian folk music performing honor. Nice that they all found one another. Give this disc a spin. Michael J. 02/10 F-Americana [*How a Gary, Indiana station got away with playing bluegrass might be interesting research sometime.]KORBY LENKER
King of Hearts
NEIL YOUNG
Live at Massey Hall, 1971
AMBER NICOLE
Lead You The Way Back Home
TWO LOONS FOR TEA
Nine Lucid Dreams
Y LA BAMBA
Oh February
Terri Hendrix
The Art of Removing Wallpaper
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.