Reviews

THE CHURCHMEN CROWN OF THORNS Mountain Fever Records MFR 150707 The last time I reviewed The Churchmen was for the release of their 2008 recording I’ll Be Long Gone. Between then and now, there have been some shifts. The earlier recording had strong elements of tradition, but the songs sounded more contemporary. They also had…

THE FEINBERG BROTHERS Ampersand Records 0315    The Northeast has been home to some fairly impressive bluegrass brother groups through the years, notably the Lilly Brothers with Don Stover and, of course, the Gibson Brothers with their impressive string of superb albums and awards that just keep coming. Now, from Long Island, the Feinberg Brothers (Rourke…

SPENCER BRANCH ASHE COUNTY OUTLAWS No Label No Number    What I like about the music and musical attitude of western North Carolina is that there’s much less of a distinction between bluegrass and old-time music there than in other parts of the country. In some areas, bluegrass is bluegrass and old-time is old-time and there’s…

JAMIE HARPER OLD PAL Mountain Fever Records MFR150512 Jamie Harper, originally from Mocksville, N.C., is known for his energetic fiddle work with his current bandleader Junior Sisk, along with previous stints with Marty Raybon, Carrie Hassler, and Blue Moon Rising. Rather than an all-instrumental album of fiddle tunes, Harper chose a band approach. He shares…

GOLD HEART PLACES I’VE BEEN Mountain Fever Records MFR150159 The young women of Gold Heart, Jocey (Jocelyn), Tori, and Shelby Gold, are sounding better than ever on their new release, which celebrates their tenth year as a band. Mountain Heart’s Josh Shilling, reso-guitar master Rob Ickes, and album producer Ron Stewart guest, but the shining…

FY5 EAT THE MOON Swingfingers Records SF 003 Harder and harder it becomes to pin down a genre in which some bands belong. FY5 is one such band. The opening track, “She Wants To Eat The Moon,” starts with lightly strummed guitar and pensive Joni Mitchell/Judy Collins qualities. That gives way to a building rhythm,…