Violinist Annette Meng adds a sense of melancholy to the balance and urgency in Michael Goodson's lyrics. The banjo on some of the songs adds a slight hillbilly feel that completely fits because of the acoustic nature of the album. This CD has that moody acoustic rock thing going with good crunchy grooves. The vocals uncannily resemble Eddie Vedder, but there the Pearl Jam comparison ends. For some reason I was also reminded of Spain.
Bonus points go to the elegant, uncluttered package design.
The instruments come off as au natural, which is impossible in reality, I know, but they really don't sound like they've been miked. And I know almost every band out there has a violin player at this point, but I still love to hear it. The music certainly is. I think if some stations had this they would play it. The musicians exude some powerful playing to match the equally powerful vocals.