Well, that’s me right out of my cotton picking comfort zone! It’s not like I am allergic to fiddles and banjos but they do induce an almost overwhelming feeling of trepidation as those rose tinted glasses of a seasoned musical time traveller like April Verch look back – never in anger, of course – to a world that never really existed and, even if it had, would never have had anything more than rudimentary plumbing.
Certainly, you cannot doubt the finger picking skills of all involved this Ms Verch’s ninth album “Bright Like Gold” with much on the way of earnest dexterity to drag you dancing through songs like “Jeff Sturgeon” and “All Young, John Riley The Shepard”. More to my taste, however, were the wry – yes, that’s the word – old time country of “Don’t Come Home A Drinking” and “Sorry” where that search for authenticity in both inspiration and performance seems to best gel.
Twenty songs is a lot especially when so many of said songs are traditional fayre but the time seems to pass amiably enough with Ms Verch and her cohorts managing to inject more than enough of that wholesome fireside warmth to convince many a passing ear that yesterday was actually better than today.
The album is available from CD Baby amongst other places.