Search - Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: Hard Game of Love

On their first secular album in six years, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver may not break any new ground, but as always, they do what they do extraordinarily well. Combining layered, often chill-bump-good harmonies with bold instrumental verve, the reigning International Bluegrass Music Association Vocal Group of the Year tackles a number of songs that hearken more to old-style, heartbreak country music than to the strict ?grassy canon. But whether the repertoire is contemporary or vintage (Bill Anderson?s "We Missed You"), the performance never veers from traditional style and, in that sense, may seem a bit dated to bluegrass fans who came to the genre via Alison Krauss & Union Station, et al., and expect more subtlety in the playing or poetry in the lyrics. However, there?s plenty of variety with the addition of the swingy "A Thing of the Past," where the guitar accents dart in and out like a flirtatious suitor at a dance, with "The Hand Made Cross," the album?s only nod to the spiritual hereafter, and with "Oak Ridge Rendezvous," only the second instrumental of Lawson?s long career. All in all, this is a consistently solid and lively effort from one of bluegrass?s most bankable acts. --Alanna Nash