Open Secrets
Album: Open Secrets
Label: Zebulon
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.theopensecrets.co.uk

Open Secrets are a relatively new name to the UK Americana scene, having formed just last year, with "Open Secrets" being their self-titled debut. The band, a quartet, come out of the Bristol area, but their musical influences lay a lot further out west.

The majority of the album are penned by lead singer, multi-instrumentalist Steve Page, who like a lot of writers in the bluegrass old timey successfully manages the responsibility for writing new old songs, with the exception being the band's take on the oft recorded murder ballad, "Staggerlee".

It would be a cheap shot to suggest that the Bristolian connections have made a contribution in inspiring the songs of drunks, losers and drifters, but there is a real depth and quality in their interpretation of that traditional bluegrass theme, though that might also be something brought to the party by Vancouver based producer, Simon Kendall, who also contributes bass to the album.

"Open Secrets" is a well written and produced album, there were a couple of times that I found myself being reminded of David Rawlings protégés Old Crow Medicine Show, never a bad thing. Undisputedly, Open Secrets have managed to establish their own sound and identity in what is becoming an increasingly crowded genre. "Open Secrets" is very much an album of intent.

Neil King