Named the Vocal Group of the Year at this week’s International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in Raleigh, NC, Flatt Lonesome releases Silence In These Walls, the 4th CD from this powerhouse vocal and instrumental group. The album is available today, Friday, September 29.
Fiddler and vocalist, Charli Robertson, comments on this latest project: “Looking back on six years of traveling and making music together, it's so cool to see how each of us have matured musically -- especially when reflecting on our debut album, Flatt Lonesome, to this fourth album, Silence in These Walls. This album really shows who we are -- not only as a band, but also individually. It has nine original songs and seven were written or cowritten by Kelsi and Paul. They are both awesome writers, and I'm glad they've gotten to show that talent off with this album.”
Silence In These Walls (Mountain Home Music Company) is replete with expressive vocal and instrumental performances, increasingly sophisticated songwriting, and inventive arrangements that have become the hallmark of the group.
With an ever-increasing emphasis on original material, the group honors Country and Bluegrass recording styles with a powerful sense of musical exploration. Melancholy themes of heartbreak, the harshness of life’s lessons, glowing moments of faith and love requited; all spring vividly from this innovative collection.
Much of the album is contemplative, almost brooding. In tone and theme, it is startlingly evocative and sophisticated. Topics like anxiety, questioning seasons in life, and making bittersweet choices of the heart are explored.
In a nod to the musical traditions they hold dear, and almost in summary of the varied emotional themes, the band includes “Where Do You Go,” a thoughtful song that first appeared on Country icon Glen Campbell’s 1970 album, Try A Little Kindness. Charli takes the vocal lead, and those distinctive familial harmonies bring it poignantly home.
“Personally, the playing and singing on this record came so easy for me,” Charli says. “It felt so natural because it's the music that I love so much. Over time, you learn what works and feels good for you and your band, and I think this album reflects that. I hope people enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it!”
These six young artists keep raising the bar on their own creative game. Flatt Lonesome owns this material through the commanding individual and collective performances of Charli Robertson, Buddy Robertson, Kelsi and Paul Harrigill, Dominic Illingworth and Michael Stockton.
Purchase Link: SILENCE_IN_THESE_WALLS
