Listen to the first couple of tracks, and you'd be excused for thinking you're listening to just another country/bluegrass band tearing it up on "Long Journey Home" (aka "Two Dollar Bill"). Delve a little deeper, however, and there's the lovely "Hill Country Nights," followed by a gossamer cover of
Hendrix's "Little Wing" where guitarist Willie Pipkin really does shine. "Motor City Man" is an elegy to those who've lost auto jobs, with some lovely mandolin from Matt Shisher, who also shines on the following "Ramen Noodle Rag" (as does fiddler Dennis Ludker). Another instrumental, "Cuttin' the Mullet" leads into the hilarious social portrait of "The Ballad of Eddie Mullet." Not everything is perfect -- "Cactus and Caliche" and the traditional "Stealin'" don't stand out as anything special, but they do go out on a high note, with the Celtic-inflected "Old Settlers' Breakdown" that shifts through several moods in its five and a half minutes to completely display the instrumental talents of the band, and highlight the soloists. Not a perfect national debut, then, but one that bodes extremely well for the future, and shows the band beginning to find its true voice. ~ Chris Nickson