Articles

RED MOLLY LIGHT IN THE SKY No Label No Number If this CD were all a cappella ballads, this would be an excellent new project from Red Molly. But their crystalline three-part harmonies are only part of the excellent music adventure this trio brought to the studio. Austin-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Molly Venter easily steps into the…

RIGNEY FAMILY BLUEGRASS FAMILIAR PATHS Rigney Family Bluegrass RFB-2011-3 Mention “family bluegrass band,” and after a few moments of missing the Lewis Family pass, too often my mind summons up images of twee, cloying, smiling, unimaginative, unchallenging bluegrass, heavy on standards or pop-grass. Sure, after Cherryholmes I should know better than to assume such, but…

THE MISSY WERNER BAND THREE KINDS OF LONESOME Missy Werner Music MWM 2011-1 Missy Werner’s second release includes 14 songs that are predominantly contemporary in style and are drawn from such writers as Jennifer Strickland, Jon Weisberger, Jeremy Garrett, and Mark Brinkman, among others. The exceptions are “Blue Skies And Teardrops” (a tribute to Lynn…

WAYNE TAYLOR AND APPALOOSA IT’S GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL DAY Raincoe Music RM092611 On his last recording, Wayne Taylor offered a mix of five originals, one David Parker tune and six covers. With this, his third album, he returns to the format of his first effort, writing or co-writing all the songs save for Parker’s…

APRIL VERCH THAT’S HOW WE RUN Slab Town Records STR11-01 Known as a Canadian fiddler and step dancer, Verch puts another foot forward here on a program of tunes predominately from the south of the Canadian border. The title cut is an introspective original piece that features Cody Walter’s fine clawhammer banjo and Verch’s direct…

BREAKING GRASS No Label No Number Bluegrass music songwriting has grown and expanded thematically in recent years, with bands like the Infamous Stringdusters and Cadillac Sky bringing a cinematic approach to their original material that tells sweeping stories filled with a novelist’s eye for detail and character. Coupled with a newfound sense of rhythmic and…