By W.J. Hallock
I must be a dinosaur…… in this digital age, I still like the simplicity of sliding a brand new CD into the dash of my old Ford pickup. I Didn’t have a hard copy today, so here I sit at my computer trying to use all the information at my disposal to make an honest appraisal of this CD.
The very first observation is that this band is TIGHT! Their timing is impeccable. Just like a metronome….. Their feel for each other on every song is superb. Their bass player, Terry Poirier, is the hub of this wheel, and the others stick to him like glue. That bouncy syncopation is really noticeable on the one song Terry sings lead on, “Angelita.” The sound they got out of Terry’s upright is big, clean and strong. Plenty of bottom here for the others to feed off of. Score one for producer Brent Truitt.
Kati Penn, on fiddle, lead and harmony vocals, does her best to be just one of the boys in the band. And Kati is a very talented fiddle player, surrounded by four equally talented players. But, there’s no getting around it, Kati’s voice is the icing on the “NewTown” cake. If one were to buy this CD just for the song “Bridge,” by Jon Weisberger and Sara Siskind, it would be worth the cost. Brent has layered several of Kati’s fiddle tracks to give the song a heavenly, almost orchestral quality. “Bridge” is the stand out HIT of the CD. It also has the potential to be a career making song.
“NewTown” is a very, very good band. And they have put out a very good CD. Their singing, their playing, their harmony, as showcased so well in the song “Roll Away The Stone,“ their song selection, their song play order, their use of Brent Truitt as producer….. all is top notch. This CD needs to be on your “make sure I get one” list. Sure do wish I had one to listen to in the truck……
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