Brothers Sam, Abe and James Wilson are indeed literal sons of Bill (their dad's an esteemed professor at the University of Virginia) and, to an extent, they also have an Uncle called Tupelo in their musical lineage (drummer Ken Croomer is producer).
This fourth studio album from the Charlottesville band is melodic, down-the-middle Americana flavoured with a sweeter mode of country blues that reaches further back than its predecessor, Sirens (I'm sure opener Big Unknown contains a couple of bars that mirror an escalating phrase in Kenny Rogers's Lucille). Certain close harmonies here are as much Eagles as Teenage Fanclub, but that only makes their particular brand of alt-country classic rather than dated, and ensures they'll have a ready made constituency waiting when they play Glasgow's Stereo on February 19. They can also do a mean ballad of the old school, as Fishing Song sets out to prove, pedal steel guitar slipping leisurely between piano and intertwined voices, while on Arms Of The Landslide provide a ready replacement for the now-disbanded R.E.M. This is destined to be their breakthrough year.
Alan Morrison
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