With this album Continental Divide has undergone some changes, some of them significant (only singer/guitarist David Parmley and bassist
Mike Anglin remain from the band's original lineup) and others more cosmetic (
Parmley's name is now front and center, apparently to attract those fans who remember him as a founding member of the legendary
Bluegrass Cardinals). What's really changed, though, is the band's sound: Whereas the old Continental Divide tended to stay on the progressive side of things, the new one focuses more on traditional bluegrass, with an occasional digression into weepy country ballads like "I've Heard the Wind Blow" and the majestically maudlin "I Never Go Around Mirrors" (has anyone offered that one to George Jones yet?). Even the straight-ahead bluegrass material has an occasional twist, though. In "40 Years Ago," a dad does his best to reassure his son, who has found out that his mother used to be a hooker, while the title track reverses a 50-year tradition of bluegrass songs that tell you that you can't go home again.
Parmley's voice is warm and attractive, and the band is tight but not uptight, which makes for a winning combination. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson