Many great artists produce music that is inspiring without being technically gifted vocalists. Kris Kristofferson and Ryan Bingham have produced two of the year’s best albums while displaying vocals that few would term “smooth”. The largely acoustic solo debut from Curtis Harvey (Myspace), Box of Stones (FatCat), successfully showcsaes the same ability to move the listener by creating a compelling package that doesn’t rely solely on glossy, operatic vocals.
Stones covers familiar lyrical territory of life and love with Harvey’s plain-spoken poetry and avoids sounding stale and tired in the process. There is plenty of roots-y pickin’ on this record. “Oldertoo” and “Borrowed Time” are basically roughly hewn bluegrass tunes, while the banjo in “Words” and “On Top” spring forward with a rawness and vibrancy that draws the listener in quickly. “Bag of Seeds” would’ve fit nicely onto Bingham’s Mescalito album, as it rocks just a tad with a plugged-in vibe that never separates the track from the album’s core sound. This album has Curtis Harvey’s grit to thank for it’s ability to shine.
About the author: I likes me some wine, women and waffles, not always in that order (but usually). Chaucer is cool, but fart jokes are even better. You feel like spikin' your country with a little soul or mix in a little rock without the roll? Lemme hear from ya!!