Search - Northern Lights :: Living in the City

Bluegrass your mother never taught you about

K. A. Levine | Stow, MA, USA | 12/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who think bluegrass music is an aw shucks downhome rough and tumble affair with grainy singing, here comes Northern Lights with as slick, well sung, and well produced a work as you can find in any genre. And from New England?! I don't deny that you need a sensibility for simplicity to appreciate the deceptively basic lyrics. It also helps to have a tolerance for country music in the broadest sense, meaning music from the country. But the spirit of the playing and the enthusiasm of the delivery can uplift anyone who meets these criteria and allow them to diversify their collection in ways hitherto unimagined. There is the giddy frustration of going for the girl whom you know you can't have in "She Don't Love Nobody", the spiritual call of "Valley to Pray", and the melancholy of "Lonely Is". In short, the moods coveyed are all over the map, but even the saddest can warm your toes on a cold winter night. The one that find the repeat button the most for me is "Sing to You" with its delightful pace and la la chorus. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to get out of your chair!"