Highly recommended
A. M. Morse | Philadelphia, PA | 03/07/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"fan of folk? bluegrass? old school country? you'll find something to get into on this album. what i love most about the music of this band is that they really know when to cut loose and when to exercise restraint, and it's evident in the prowess of every musician in this band--each instrumentalist excels both in the background and when it's their moment to take the lead. same goes for the vocals, which are occasionally delivered almost in slow motion behind frenetic banjo and mandolin lines. the band will probably grow tired of being compared to nickel creek--and they are certainly more eclectic in their instrumentation, style, and influences, but it'll be hard for them to avoid this comparison. witness "you will change me," which sounds like it could have been pulled right off nickel creek's first album. it's a great tune, though, and it fits well here. that said, the best song's here are virtually all of the original compositions and often diverge quite a bit out of that pigeonhole. a small criticism: i'd have preferred to hear more original songs in place of a couple songs here that the band did not write. highlights: "books," "get up and go," "all the buildings.""