Let'sPick A Winner

Rating:




For a couple of years the only music video channel I had was CMT, watching it taught me I didn't completely hate Country music. Or at least Modern Country aka 38 Special with steel guitar and twang. Funnily enough, the Country artist I got the most into was not quite modern Country but instead bluegrass all stars Alison Krauss and Union Station.

I've become a fan of their work and have some of their discs. Their music reminds me of a gently babbling brook in the woods with a serene feminine voice floating above like a cloud of marshmellows filled with match sticks and Americana. After '07's Lonely Runs Both Ways album the band went on break while Ms. Krauss teamed up with Golden God Robert Plant for a Grammy winning duets album. The dynamic duo tried to record a followup which they said lacked inspiration which leads up to now, the return of Alison Krauss and Union Station.

So here they are, for better or worse sounding like they never took a break. You can always count on these guys for tasteful performances on strong material. Still it's hard to not feel pushed down, turned around,apprehended and led down town - you know, restless, because there's no growth here. Creatively they've plateaued. The only song that had me say "Wow" was "Miles To Go", that song was killer. Krauss's soft plaintive delivery wins everytime. "Dust Bowl Children" has a bit of depression era kick / relevance with Dan Tymynski singing lead.

The rest of the album sounds fine, just not memorable. While I could have gone for some new development in their music, Paper Airplanes can still stick a landing.