Yellow Line
Pinecastle, 2024
8/10
The bluegrass wizard and Berklee educated Liam Purcell brings us 12 new recordings, where Jacob Smith, Rob McCormac, Colton Kerchner and Sam Stage are in attendance.
“Yellow Line” starts the listen with Kerchner’s warm banjo that suits Purcell’s flowing vocals in the soothing bluegrass climate, and “No More” follows with Stage’s fiddle acrobatics that mesh well with the firm singing and swift musicianship.
Landing in the middle, “Black Sheep’s Wool” is a more intimate moment, where emotive vocals and Smith’s bass won’t go unnoticed, while “Somerville” benefits much from McCormac’s meticulous guitar via the highly melodic album highlight.
Deeper still, the gorgeous vocal harmonies of ‘Crooked As You Go” complements the gentle interaction between the strings, and “I Believe There’s An End To The Darkness” exits with sublime balladry that’s heartfelt and timeless.
Purcell is quickly making a name for himself, and his first rate bluegrass ways are providing us a glimpse of the future of the genre.
Travels well with: Tim Raybon Band- I Could Get Used To This; The Goodwin Brothers- If You Hadn’t Noticed