The Greencards

For a band who boast of being both mostly acoustic and high energy, they do their best to live up to the hype on this, their sophomore disc. The newgrass style that emerged in the jam scene over the past decade — a sound ultimately defined by the Clements-Grisman-Garcia combo on Old and in the Way in the mid-’70s — is mostly set aside in favor of a more traditional Munroe-Scruggs/Bluegrass Boys approach, and even trad Celtic stylings on the title track. The Greencards’ authenticity is reflected in how rarely they use drums. And that does tend to hold the energy level down. There are a few progressive and up-tempo tracks thrown into the Weather and Water mix. But the Greencards have saddled themselves with so many sappy love songs that it’s hard for the album to work up a consistent head of steam. The result is a disconnected disc, stuck somewhere between old and newgrass.