More Good, But Not Great, Acoustic Folk/Country Music from B
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 06/29/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Much to my amazement, a recent Village Voice article failed to cite the M Shanghai String Band as one of the premier bands in the over-hyped, rather mediocre, Brooklyn, New York folk/country music scene:
http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0822,the-grand-ole-opries-of-brooklyn,451775,22.html
M Shanghai String Band is definitely the best band from this scene that I have heard, and one which has garnered some respectable interest regionally in venues ranging from the Berkshires of Massachusetts to the Mohawk River valley of New York. Theirs is a fine mixture of acoustic folk and country music, with a strong undercurrent of bluegrass too, played with the ample earnestness one expects from serious amateur musicians like them. But what of their songwriting craft? Without question, the best song is "From the Riverbed" which is a fine elegy to the generations of tunnel diggers ("sand hogs") who have built vast networks of tunnels for moving traffic and delivering fresh water within New York City, often under perilous conditions. However, the rest of the album doesn't quite match the smart, witty lyrics and fine melodies I've heard from the Wingdale Community Singers - quite possibly Brooklyn's best acoustic country/folk act, period - or from Tucson, AZ-based Nancy McCallion, a founder of the critically acclaimed the Mollys, and often compared favorably to the likes of Iris DeMent and Lucinda Williams. If you are interested in hearing traditional folk music with a contemporary twist, then M Shangahi String Band's latest may be quite all right for you, but if you want to hear great country music made by noted New York City-based musicians, then check out the latest releases from the likes of Roseanne Cash, Mark O'Connor and Chris Thile first."
