"I have to admit that on my first listening of this CD I wasn't taken with it. Another standard old-time band from the Northwest with flatfooting, I thought. But there was something about it that kept me coming back - besides the fact that I had to review it. That something(s) was the fine musicianship, the tight band sound, and the wonderful singing.

This is a young-ish group based in Seattle; three gents and a lady. Their website says they've been playing as a group since 2003. They must've had a lot of gigs, for in that relatively short time they've developed a super-tight band sound that is perfectly balanced and cohesive. Every player is strong: the fiddle has great intonation and clarity, with a fullness that reminds me of the two-fiddle sound of the Skillet Lickers. The banjoist plays equally fine clawhammer and three-finger style. The guitar and bass play whomping rhythm, and most of the tunes cook! Tune selection is well thought out and pleasingly varied. From a few standards that they make sound fresh - "Jack of Diamonds" at a nice clip and "Old Bunch of Keys" with a darker tag, for instance - to more twisty and cobwebby ones like "Comin' Up the Pike", I was never bored or impatient with the cuts or their sequence. All the players sing and harmonize beautifully, and I especially enjoyed the chorus of "Raleigh and Spencer", for it was the time I could best hear Charmaine's voice. Too bad she didn't sing any leads. I'd never heard "God Don't Like It" before this summer; their old-time interpretation of Blind Willie McTell's blues song follows my first hearing Cary Fridley's raw version and it couldn't be more different though equally compelling.

The CD cover is spare. Artwork by Charmaine has a quirky charm. Had there been notes for each cut I bet they would've been quirky too, and fun. It says the CD was recorded live at the studio, though to what extent I'm not certain. But the bouyancy, exuberance, and good time that comes through attests to the energy they generate. Husband Andy made this general comment: "I'd love to go to their party". Enough said."