Cadillac Sky – Blind Man Walking

Cadillac Sky plays high-octane newgrass without sounding like a total New Grass Revival ripoff. Thats no mean feat. Much of their drive comes from banjo player Matt Menefee, who runs scales with little regard for Scruggs. Ross Holmes greasy fiddle invites you to turn up the volume, but not every song is full-throttle. Sonya Isaacs lends a gorgeous guest vocal to the Celtic strains of Homesick Angel, a bittersweet ballad about the loss of a child. Never Been So Blue is a respectful, waltz-time homage to Bill Monroe. Lead singer, mandolinist, and principal songwriter Bryan Simpson writes a thoroughly contemporary lyric, referencing everything from DNA and Nyquil to Club Med, but the conflicting notions of sin and salvation are his primary touchstones. Folks drink too much, commit felonies, and get thrown in jail more than once, actually. But hope remains. As Sinners Welcome professes, before dissolving into a Pentecostal shout-fest: Sin is the cause; Christ is the cure.