CD Reviews

Chatham County Line

IV | Yep Rock

By TED DROZDOWSKI | April 2, 2008

3.0 Stars

Over four albums, this quartet from Raleigh, North Carolina, have retraced the evolution of bluegrass, beginning as a traditional mountain-music group and arriving with IV as a bold and beautiful acoustic pop outfit still faithful to their roots. This disc’s instrumentals, like the banjo blazer “Clear Blue Sky” and the mandolin charmer “Paige,” fly old-school colors. Even the sweetest pop numbers, which are given a little extra honey by producer Chris Stamey of the db’s, are constructed around vocal melodies supported by close-harmony singing and arrangements that owe as much to the Stanley Brothers as to the Rolling Stones. And there ain’t no drums here, thanks. Yet “Chip of a Star” is ornately modern and textural thanks to flat-top and steel guitars that churn and sigh beneath leader Dave Wilson’s sweet lilting voice while benefitting from careful mixing and judicious use of electronics. And there’s plenty of dirt in the grooves — especially in the gritty civil-rights-era tale “Birmingham Jail” and the thumping heartbeat of the blues mantra “I Got Worry.”

CHATHAM COUNTY LINE | Club Passim, 47 Palmer Street, Cambridge | April 10 | 617.492.7679

Hybrid rhythmic engine
Nation Beat is a gas
Beyond the White Stripes
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant lead an Americana resurgence
A philosopher in bunny ears
Steve Martin’s new memoir unlocks the freaky logic of his comedy
More

Topics: CD Reviews , Raleigh North Carolina , Club Passim , Entertainment , More

Comments

Add a Comment

ARTICLES BY TED DROZDOWSKI

ANI DIFRANCO | RED LETTER YEAR | September 23, 2008
Righteous Babe (2008)

MIX NUTS | September 23, 2008
An interview with breakout roots-music production stars the Tremolo Twins

INTERVIEW: DICK SMOTHERS | September 17, 2008
Mom always liked him best

B.B. KING | September 10, 2008
One Kind Favor | Geffen

BASIC ELEMENTS | September 08, 2008
The international and roots-music scene heats up

See all articles by: TED DROZDOWSKI

Most Viewed

Most Emailed

BULL DISCLOSURE
As the candidates prep for the final debate, it’s a fitting time to ask: why do some journalistic conflicts of interest become scandals, while others get almost no attention at all?

HOT LOVE
Taste the flames inside Boston's secret world of fire artists

SCHLEPPING FOR OBAMA
The Boston roots of Sarah Silverman's Jewbama crusade

THE MELTING POT
Dip into confusing dining

I HAD AN ABORTION
Forty percent of American women have abortions by the time they're 45. I'm one of them.

BULL DISCLOSURE
As the candidates prep for the final debate, it’s a fitting time to ask: why do some journalistic conflicts of interest become scandals, while others get almost no attention at all?