Search - Chatham County Line :: Speed of the Whippoorwill

Though the acoustic instrumentation of this drummerless Carolina quartet suggests a traditional bluegrass band, with most of the music driven by Chandler Holt's banjo and John Teer's mandolin, much of the material written by frontman Dave Wilson reflects even earlier traditions--old-timey country and string bands, rags, even a song ("Confederate Soldier") that evokes the Civil War. The four-part harmonies are gorgeous (particularly on "Waiting Paradise") and the musical interplay impeccable (as reflected on a pair of instrumentals, the banjo breakdown "Savoy Special" and the mandolin showcase "Brice's Crossroads"), but if the copyright didn't indicate that this is all original material from 2006, the listener could mistake much of it for Depression-era revivalism. On "Lonesome in Caroline," the one live track, the music mimics the seminal style of Jimmie Rodgers so exactly that those who applaud re-creation will marvel, while those who prefer creation might wonder what the point is. The sweet yearning of the title track and the languid "All the Ladies in the Town" sound a little less tradition-bound. --Don McLeese