Old Man Luedecke

Chester, NS musician Old Man Luedecke follows up 2009's Juno-award-winning Proof of Love with another smashing collection of banjo-based folk songs. Producer Steve Dawson's full band arrangements give weight and polish to Luedecke's fourth effort, but a solid core of complex melodies and clear-eyed lyrical perspective is what gives his music its lasting appeal. The mandolin, fiddle and gritty backing vocals of Grammy Award-winning musician Tim O'Brien lend the album more of a classic bluegrass vibe than we've heard from Luedecke in the past. He also ups the outrage quotient this time around, adding a tad more political discord to his typical romantic introspection. Lines like "I ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars" give the upbeat arrangements a sharper edge than usual and a pleasurably bitter flavour. This is simply a beauty of an album, from its first twang to the final strum.