Let It Fall
Though Sean Watkins has been a celebrated flat-picker since his  midteens, this first solo album from theNickel Creekguitarist impresses most through its subtlety, restraint, and a  maturity beyond its years. Where earlier bluegrass generations often  seemed to equate velocity with virtuosity, Watkins writes warmly  melodic material with memorable hooks, employing traditional acoustic  instrumentation to liberating effect. The album's title cut, its one  vocal selection, features Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet  Sprocket), sounding like a sunnier version of the lateNick Drake.   Elsewhere, the chamber strains of "The Birth" put the fiddle of Nickel  Creek's Sara Watkins in tandem with her brother's guitar and mandolin,  while the sprightly "The Ant and the Ant" finds him matching licks with  veteran session stalwartsJerry Douglason Dobro andStuart Duncanon  fiddle. On the jazzy swing of the bonus track, Watkins teams with a  decidedly non-bluegrass rhythm section.--Don McLeese