Old Crow Medicine Show is back with a new album, and it's a strong showing. Tucked between a mix of bring-down-the-house string band classics (Flicker & Shine, Shout Mountain Music, Elzick's Farewell) and some more reflective songs about family and downtime (Homecoming Party, Whirlwind), there are tunes that are a little more Southern-fried than their usual fare (Dixie Avenue and Look Away, for two). One song, A World Away, could almost be an early Jimmy Buffett tale with its lyrics of longing to be on the inside and saltwater harmonica backing.
Overall it sounds like OCMS is expanding their subject matter, but incrementally. In a recent short interview on Route 650, Ketch Secor talked about one of the songs, Old Hickory, as being an ode to a fictional musical hero. Blending names we're vaguely familiar with along with Andrew Jackson's nickname and evocative phrases – shades the porch of a house that's been torn down – it's a story we all know but don't quite remember. That pretty well sums up the entire album. In many respects it puts me in the same mood as R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction" but with OCMS's vastly superior musical skills.
It's a small but noticeable step up from some of their other very good recent albums. If you don't have any of their other albums beyond the eponymous one (you know, the one with with Wagon Wheel), this is the one to go buy.
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