On their first few albums,
Chatham County Line sounded like a top-flight bluegrass band with some interesting, offbeat ideas bubbling under the surface. 2020's
Strange Fascination, the group's last album prior to the departure of founding banjo player
Chandler Holt, saw those ideas finally rise to the surface and make their way into the spotlight, and 2024's
Hiyo is their boldest departure from bluegrass traditionalism to date. The melodies still show traces of classic bluegrass forms, and fiddles, banjos, and acoustic guitars remain key parts of the arrangements, but producer
Rachael Moore has filtered the audio through enough effects to give this a powerfully atmospheric, impressionistic tone, at once ghostly and strangely beautiful, and electric guitars and keyboards occasionally weave in and out of the mix. (The intro to "Magic" suggests someone had
Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door" stuck in their head the day they recorded it.)
Hiyo often sounds as if
My Morning Jacket chose to turn down their amps and make an album suitable for listening to late at night, and it's a persona that works for
Chatham County Line. The contemplative murmur of
Dave Wilson vocals on tracks like "Heaven" and "Right on Time" fits these tracks like another instrument in the mix, and
Wilson's guitar,
John Teer's fiddle and mandolin,
Greg Reading's bass and pedal steel, and percussionist
Dan Hill show how different a journey they can take with the same tools they've been using for years. Their cover of the
Patsy Cline classic "She's Got You" sounds very different than what
CCL did in the past, but the high lonesome mood remains as effective as ever, and the subtle literacy of the lyrics and plaintive strength of the melodies remind us of the strength of the group's songwriting.
Hiyo represents a strong stylistic shift for
Chatham County Line, but what's new here doesn't feel forced. Instead, the album is the work of a talented, imaginative group bravely stepping beyond their borders, and the result is one of their best, most fascinating works to date. ~ Mark Deming
