Artist: Chatham County Line
Album: Autumn
Bitrate: 226kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Yep Roc
Genre: Bluegrass
Size: 64.53 megs
PlayTime: 0h 37min 53sec total
Rip Date: 2016-09-10
Store Date: 2016-09-02
Track List:
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01. You Are My Light 2:57
02. Bon Ton Roulet 3:25
03. Siren Song 3:10
04. Rock In The River 3:19
05. Jackie Boy 4:40
06. All That's Left 3:25
07. Bull City Strut 2:33
08. Dark River 3:42
09. Moving Pictures Of My Mind 3:46
10. If I Had My Way 2:41
11. Show Me The Door 4:15
Release Notes:
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Chatham County Line are often openers for the Avett Brothers, and itÆs no wonder
considering that the two bands have much in common when it comes down to it:
both hail from North Carolina and both took the early bluegrass, country, and
folk stars of the 1900s music into consideration when developing their initial
sounds and finding their first inspirations. This writer in particular was able
to see the two on the same bill during his first big-time theater concert in
2015, and was personally able to take in the warmth and authenticity of Dave
Wilson (guitar), John Teer (mandolin, fiddle), Greg Readling (upright bass), and
Chandler Holt (banjo) as they delivered expert plucking and harmonies to the few
thousand in the Tucson audience that night with all of the masterclass gusto
that one would expect from a top-notch bluegrass band.
While some bands, Avetts included, have tended to skew from the traditions of
their folksy roots to err into more glamorous pop and rock territory over the
yearsùwhich isnÆt always necessarily a bad thingùChatham County Line has deftly
stayed their course steadily and truly as a bonafide bluegrass band from start
to finish. The aforementioned warmth and authenticity in their sound rings as
true on the stage as it does on their recorded outputs, and their latest effort
with Yep Roc, Autumn, proves that very fact yet again. Much like the calm of the
fall season itself, Autumn is a record which simultaneously envelopes its
listeners in a soothing coolness and the organic warmth of a traditional
bluegrass hearth.
They play with more separate influences here, from New Orleans lyrical themes
(ôBon Ton Rouletö) to ragtime instrumentation complete with piano on closing
track ôShow Me Your Loveö. Regardless of any variation in theme or apparent
influences, however, Autumn is an album that maintains itsùwell, autumnalùglow
from beginning to end. Whether it be with the aforementioned closing track,
featuring layered harmonies from the boys against an up-tempo ragtime number
more or less atypical to their more usual choice of instrumentation, with the
mildly exotic, ethereal arrangement of the sensual opener ôYou Are My Lightö, or
with a track in between them each such as the spoken word country stomper ôIf I
Had My Wayö or the more hushed and haunting design of ôJackie Boyö, the band
remain straight-shooters in due respect to their authenticated bluegrass
molding.á
The end result of Chatham County LineÆs latest result in the studio is,
arguably, yet another solid installment in a growing portfolio which will
hopefully see the Carolina boys through for many years to come. They are
masterful pickers and varied songwriters capable of creating an infectious
backdrop for their audiences to behold with their innovative, masterclass
harmonies. By all intents and purposes, Autumn is the definition of true,
unadulterated bluegrass with only a few modern amenities tossed in for good
measure.