Don't be put off because this record does not fall into any specific category (Bluegrass, Old-Time, Country, "Americana" etc). The fact is there are shades of all of those genres here, but essentially Gaudreau & Klein have fashioned a style that is uniquely theirs, and it seems completely natural and unforced. Amazingly, the duo achieves a highly textured instrumental sound, thanks to Gaudreau's exciting and tasteful work on mandolin, mandola, guitar and octave mandolin. Klein, who spent time as lead singer for the Seldom Scene and the relatively short-lived Chesapeake band, is a dynamic and very distinctive singer who comes up with some lovely, soulful passages both in his solos and his duets with Gaudreau. The songs here (14) are wonderful: the first three cuts on the album (BENDING BLADES, LEAVING NANCY and ROD McNEIL) are more than worth the price of the album, but everything works beautifully, from the two neat instrumentals (FISHER'S HORNPIPE and WHISKEY BEFORE BREAKFAST) to Townes Van Zandt's IF I NEEDED YOU, CLOSE THE DOOR LIGHTLY WHEN YOU GO and Gordon Lightfoot's SHADOWS. This is a stunning record that we HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
