FLATT LONESOME

FLATT LONESOME

Pisgah Ridge Records
PRI4402

If you are looking for a young group of musicians intent on carrying on the good old-fashioned bluegrass music tradition, then Flatt Lonesome is worth a look. The core of Flatt Lonesome came from the gospel bluegrass band Sandy Creek Revival led by Pastor Dolton Robertson and his wife, Lisa. Eventually, the Robertson kids (Charli, Buddy, and Kelsi) decided to go forward with a new band, bringing in other young musicians including Dominic Illingworth, Paul Harrigill, and Michael Stockton.

This album is Flatt Lonesome’s debut recording produced by Andrea Roberts. Right off the bat, with the opening song “You’ll Get No More Of Me,” written by West Virginia Music Hall of Famer Hazel Dickens, it is obvious that these folks have their lead and harmony vocals worked out. Other good examples of their harmony-as-lead-vocal abilities is their take on the Darrell Statler-penned “My Favorite Memory” as well as on “Boondocks.”

The tempos on here are pretty even keel, with the songs serviced as opposed to being used to build up a head of steam. One exception to that is the upbeat classic Leiber/Wheeler number “Jackson,” made famous by Johnny and June Cash. There are three original cuts on here including “Just Any Moment” and “One Foot In The Grave” written by Kelsi, and Harrigill adds “I’m Blue.” It will be interesting to see if Flatt Lonesome can bring these songs to life in person as well as they do on record. If so, then lovers of traditional bluegrass music will have something to hang their hat on. (Crossroads Music, P.O. Box 829, Arden, NC 28704, www.crossroadsmusic.com.)DH