Appalachia
Album: The Judgement
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.appalachiamusic.co.uk

Appalachia is a bluegrass band, ok - but one with a difference in that its four members each has (in addition to his passion for bluegrass) a deep knowledge and love of a quite different area of American music. In the case of guitar/harmonica player James Slater it's the California singer-songwriters; with guitar/banjo man Danny Ward it's the blues; for guitar/mandolinist Richard Burley it's jazz; and with bassist Doug Hamilton it's anything and everything! And you can hear almost all of those in the diverse clutch of tracks that makes up The Judgement.

Although the guys have been playing together for around six years now, in retrospect it was a brave step for the quartet to release as its debut CD (a mere couple of years back) a live album rather than honing their collective chops in the studio first, and that album was well received in all quarters. The studio followup takes the most democratic line possible, presenting two compositions by each band member and one genuinely combined effort (the meandering instrumental finale, which to all intents and purposes just reprises the title track as a movie-theme and seems more than a little redundant - it's as if the guys were short of material). It's interesting that the individual band members' musical "specialities" don't always seem to be directly reflected in the stylings of their individual compositions, the closest being Danny's tastily goodtime raggy-blues numbers This Train and Politicians And Bankers. As it turns out, James' brace of songs delivers the most immediately captivating tracks on the whole album: The Judgement and Up On The Mountain are choice examples of brooding, slightly ominous contemporary bluegrass with just a touch of gospel. Of Richard's songs, The Icarus Farewell makes a nod to The Band and O Brother Where Art Thou, while Pass It On is probably more akin to Steely Dan in flavour. Doug contributes the breezy, insouciant 20s-vaudeville Lazy Evening and the beautifully tender lullaby Let Me Dream Of You (the latter a CD highlight to add to James's tracks).

Altogether, the album satisfies by virtue of both its musicianship and its diversity, but there's not quite enough substance to be going on with, and I've a feeling the guys are holding back on letting us hear how good they are.

David Kidman