Search - Turtleduhks :: True Lover

When Bands Collide...

Peter Fraissinet | Ithaca, NY USA | 11/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"True Lover



When the hypnotic Trumansburg NY fiddle band Turtle Island Dream has a head-on with Canada's famed folk giants The Duhks, this is what you get. Members of each have formed the TurtleDuhks, acclaimed for their live sets at the Grassroots Festival(s), now on CD and digital download with "True Lover." A well-thought-out album of trad and new, fiddle tunes and songs, Appalachian and Acadian, it's a bit hard to pigeonhole but overall will satisfy lovers of World Beat Appalachian music (if there ever were such a thing) the most. Each of the members (Lydia Garrison, Jordan McConnell, Leonard Podolak) has his/her chance to shine, and I can't decide whether I like the songs or the instrumentals better. Jordan's rendition of "Moonshiner" is slow and exquisite, the vocal gem here. Of the instrumentals, what is deemed best will depend on your mood. Loads of great banjo by Leonard and Lydia, and Lydia has your attention no matter what she's fiddling -- give a particular close listen to River Ride (by Jeb Puryear of Donna the Buffalo), and then listen again. There is serious nuance there. The medley homage to Cheticamp, Nova Scotia is also particularly satisfying. -- Peter Fraissinet, The Salt Creek Show, WVBR-FM, Ithaca, NY (www.wvbr.com)"