When Julie Elkins took the stage in her home state of Montana, audience members could be heard exclaiming, “That girl sings like Alison Krauss and plays the banjo like Ron Block.” It’s true that Elkins, still in her 20s, plays some powerful, driving banjo, and sings with a beautiful voice that is both strong and sweet. She started playing banjo as a kid, and after several years touring with North Carolina band New Vintage, she returned to Montana and reunited with her old Wheel Hoss bandmate John Lowell. With bass player Dave Thompson and mandolin player Jerry Nettuno, they released this album.
Kane’s River delivers solid, lively contemporary bluegrass, with hard-driving songs alongside ballads in the acoustic adult/Americana vein. Elkins and Lowell share lead vocals, and all four of the bandmates share songwriting. All but two songs (including Steve Earle’s “Billy Austin”, with an interesting arrangement by Elkins) are originals.
Highlights include “Take Me Back Home” and “All That’s Left For Me”, Elkins’ banjo punch balancing out the bit of mandolin melodrama and fiddle flash on the latter. On Thompson’s “The Calm Before The Storm”, the banjo groove sets the pace, and feeling wins out over flash. Lowell’s spirited “Talk To God” is sure to please gospel fans.
Fiddler Jason Thomas, stands out on Lowell’s “Pray For Rain”. Rob Ickes’ Dobro adds soul to “Billy Austin” and “The Sea Of South Dakota”, a bittersweet song of deep dreams in the dusty West with Dan Tyminski on conga (yes, conga). Tyminski, who mixed the recording with producer Tim Austin, also plays rhythm guitar on “In Your Hands”.