Reviewed by Tony Cummings

IN THE MAINSTREAM

No doubt you've read in Cross Rhythms about the phenomenon that is Nickel Creek and how Chris Thile (20, mandolin), Sean Watkins (24, guitar) and Sean's sister Sara (20, fiddle) have taken a stunned US music world by storm with sales in excess of 500,000 for their debut album. This eagerly awaited followup seems destined to build reputation for the band now toted as "the biggest selling bluegrass band in the world." The good ol' boys at Cross Rhythms have long been swooning over Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, et al, so will need to approach these whipper snappers with caution. And in truth Nickel Creek's music is some way from the back porch hoedowns of traditional bluegrass and in fact the band prefer to call their music "progressive acoustic" and take in influences as eclectic as any radio-listening rock band. In fact, one of the standouts here is a reworking of Pavement's "Spit On A Stranger"! As well a their awesome instrumental work - just grab Chris' Dazzling mandolin picking on the instrumental opener "Smoothie Song" - there's also delightfully haunting vocals from Sean ("This Side") and Sara ("Seven Wonders") while their version of the traditional "House Carpenter" is beautiful. Delicate production from country star (and like the band, a Christian) Alison Krauss is excellent too. This is memorably haunting music for those who, having awakened to the roots in the film O Brother Where Art Thou, can now see where the rich stream of American acoustic music might flow in the coming years.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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