To call an artist "
country" is to enter a hall of mirrors. By
country, do you mean the
Diane Warren-penned pap that has dominated mainstream
country radio from the great credibility scare of the '90s (as
Steve Earle terms it) through the new millennium? Or do you mean those
progressive country/
americana/
alt-country artists who ride waves of critical respect and receive their due in
No Depression magazine? Or do you mean classic
country or
honky tonk? Or
country-rock? So suffice it to say that
Pinmonkey is a
country band par excellence precisely because it embodies this kind of confusion. The group's sweet-as-mountain-water vocals and tight musicianship could hold a comfortable place in both
No Depression circles and on
country radio. "Every Time It Rains" and "Barbed Wire & Roses" are dosed with enough
pop sensibilities to please mainstream Nashville, while the brooding, stirring
gospel of "Jar of Clay" and the bruised, drop-dead gorgeous "Augusta" are, frankly, too darn good to survive that milieu. This is a strong
country album with
pop smarts, and (complicating the picture even more) it isn't too many DNA strands removed from the
country-rock of
the Flying Burrito Brothers --
Pinmonkey's edges are just a whole lot smoother than those of their ancient predecessors.
Dolly Parton offers her nod of approval with a guest slot on "Falling out of Love With Me." The album also features a nearly unrecognizable and joyous take on alternative pop group
Sugar Ray's "Fly." ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
