Chatham County Line - Route 23 (2005)

Tracklist

01. Nowhere to Sleep
02. Dark Clouds
03. Route 23
04. Louisiana Freight Train
05. Gunfight in Durango
06. Engine No. 709
07. Parlour Light
08. Arms of the Law
09. Sun Up
10. Take Heed
11. Ruination
12. Make Some Pay
13. Saro Jane
14. Born to Be With You

Chatham County Line's second trip to the well proves to be just as refreshing as their first. Route 23 travels the same dusty back roads in the same open-top convertible, singing harmony-filled acoustic bluegrass songs that would do Bill Monroe proud. Recorded primarily around one microphone by producer Chris Stamey, the group croons and stomps with an authenticity that belies their young age. The mournful title track serves as an early highlight, with songwriter and vocalist Dave Wilson recalling the feeling of his own father's hardware store (here transposed to a service station) being left behind after the State re-routed the highway away from his place of business. This theme of a lost yesteryear knits its way through the entire album, carried by freight trains, reenacted in gunfights, and preached from the pulpit. Bright banjos and mandolins ring across these tracks, punctuated by the band's now-trademark harmonies and decidedly lo-fi studio techniques, making for a warm journey back through winding roads and Philco radios.

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