One of Americana's best and most consistent acts have found something new to say on this, their seventh full-length. Produced by an apparently tireless Dave Cobb (Lindi Ortega, Jason Isbell), Old Crow's signature old-time sound feels as alive as ever; this may be a studio album, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was recorded at a kitchen party. It's bound to thrill longtime fans, and anyone looking for some relief from the suffocating smoothness of most mainstream country.
Coming just a year after their triumphant Appalachian re-imagining of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, the band sound invigorated and joyful. Moving between the clap-your-hands-everybody opener "Flicker & Shine," the sultry stomp of "Child of the Mississippi" and the plaintive, Rick Danko-influenced "Look Away," the band demonstrate wide range while drawing from a deep well of experience.
While there may not be anything here to hit the heights of previous instant classics like "Wagon Wheel" and "Sweet Amarillo," it is "Old Hickory" that comes closest. Riding a simple three-chord progression reminiscent of Dylan's classic "You Ain't Going Nowhere", the song is at once familiar and fresh, timeless and immediate. Which, come to think of it, is the band all over.
(Sony Music Nashville)Coming just a year after their triumphant Appalachian re-imagining of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, the band sound invigorated and joyful. Moving between the clap-your-hands-everybody opener "Flicker & Shine," the sultry stomp of "Child of the Mississippi" and the plaintive, Rick Danko-influenced "Look Away," the band demonstrate wide range while drawing from a deep well of experience.
While there may not be anything here to hit the heights of previous instant classics like "Wagon Wheel" and "Sweet Amarillo," it is "Old Hickory" that comes closest. Riding a simple three-chord progression reminiscent of Dylan's classic "You Ain't Going Nowhere", the song is at once familiar and fresh, timeless and immediate. Which, come to think of it, is the band all over.