Cahalen Morrison & Eli West - Our Lady of the Tall Trees

More Country

Here’s an album in the same tradition as Chance McCoy’s, just reviewed, but the significant difference is that the majority of these songs are new rather than traditional ones. Morrison has written the bulk – though there is a great Country cover of Townes Van Zandt’s Loretta - and these resonate with a feel for the past and then the freshness of their contemporary moment, perhaps most obviously in the clarity of their recording. It is all essentially demonstrated in the musicianship, instruments [distinctive banjo again, and mandolin] and the tight twang of bluegrass harmony. 

Cahalen Morrison & Eli West - The Holy Coming of the Storm

Sweet tradition

What a wonderful new take on traditional music to make oxymoron an unstable label.

This is another delightful album hot on the aural heels of dancing through Buddy Miller's most recent. These two superb musicians play and harmonise sweetly across mostly original tunes that already sound like traditional standards. It's a mix of folk, blues and mainly bluegrass as I can best describe it. Instrumentals are short and expertly played, and the taut but gentle harmonies are simply beautiful. Everything here pleases.