The Northwestern states of Oregon and Washington are becoming hot beds of activity for old-time music, and this 5-member ensemble from Portland, OR has one of the best albums yet to come out of that area. Led by the strong fiddling of Stephen Lind, the band trots through 20 great tunes, crediting their inspiration for each piece to artists as diverse as Ed Haley, Dykes Magic City Trio, John Ashby and Ginny Hawker. It's good, high-energy dance music, helped along by a strong acoustic bass (Brian Bagdonas) and the banjo of P. T. Grover, which ranges from pretty straight Scruggs-style to a more old timey hybrid 3-finger style. The singing is not very good, but it's only heard on 3 or 4 of the tunes and is therefore not really intrusive. Lots of great tunes here, well played and quite enjoyable. POLICEMAN, LOST GIRL, LACY BROWN, SHERBURNS BREAKDOWN, ROCKY PALLET, GREY EAGLE, NEW BROOM, etc.
