Springtime
Just another slice of perfection from Catherine Irwin and Janet Beveridge Bean, who have interwoven howling hill-country, high-lonesome vocals like a pair of moonshiner's daughters. If you shiver over old-time country harmonizing, then stop the train and get off. It doesn't get any better. Walking in the same dusty footsteps as the Carter Family and the Louvin Brothers, Irwin and Bean spin their briskly picked tales of sin and salvation over sparse acoustic accompaniment. Irwin supplies most of the lead vocals with a shaking, leathery voice that's seen plenty of wear and tear on hard-lived anthems like "Picture in My Mind" and "Scamp"--"The fall don't hurt you / It's when you land"--while Bean's voice is as sweet and smooth as syrup on a waffle as she gently coos the tender ballad "Binding Twine." Purists may quibble, but this is country music like Nashville hasn't made in decades. While the industry continues to churn out commercial swill, it's the fringe elements like Freakwater, Edith Frost, and Tarnation that actually carry a vital flame.--John Chandler