Dave Paskell : takes a road trip with Madison Violet, currently touring the UK with their new album 'No Fool for Trying'. Out now on True North Records, he rates it as a "strong collection of songs, country tinged music that I like, the kind with heart and soul and bags of originality" Read the full review...
Canadian folk, roots duo, Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac have been together as Madison Violet for the last nine years. In this, their third album, you can hear a slight change in direction from their previous releases.
These hard working musicians spend nine months a year on the road and the hard work has paid dividends on this album. I have been playing this album for the last three days, its more of country offering. The kind of country tinged music that I like, the kind with heart and soul! It hits all the right reference points, Nickel Creek, Nanci Griffith and there’s some Steve Earle in the mix here as well. But .... there is also bags of originality on this album!
The Instrumentation is excellent on every single track,the vocals and vocal harmonies are top notch, Les Cooper, also the album's producer, employs lap steel and mandolin to great effect on some of the songs. The musicians backing this duo are all note worthy.
This is a strong collection of songs,my favourites are 'The Ransom', which reminds me of Nanci Griffith at her finest, sounds like a tale of on the road fatigue. 'Laura Lee is another great song reminding me of Nnickel Creek in places. I love the mandolin on this. 'No Fool for Trying' is another good track as is The Small of my Heart.
To be honest there is not a bad track on this album and its hard to name just one or two stand out tracks. Its the kind of album you will want to revisit often. All the songs are very well produced and the whole CD hangs together as one. I have to say that the more I play this CD the more it ingrains itself. Sounding better and better with each subsequent play, which to this reviewer's mind is always a sure sign of a great album!
Dave Paskell
Madison Violet are touring the UK full dates here.
