Pickin’-n-Chckin’

In most cases, the borders between the band’s Prince Edward Island homeland and the rest of North America aren’t apparent in these tracks, nor are those between traditional and original material. But you don’t need to know where they’re coming from to share their spirit: a bar band of energetic young guys, eager to entertain. Background information and track notes are next to nonexistent, but ‘O’Halloran Road’, based on its title and triste Celtic sound, is most likely from Prince Edward Island, and the danceable ‘Black Velvet Waltz’, artfully executed on MacKeeman’s fiddle with bass and accordion backup, is elsewhere pegged as ‘traditional Canadian.’ Much of the rest of the album’s offerings, including originals, wanders south of the border to take in American country, bluegrass, polka, and Western swing, with nods to Bob Wills, the Dillards and Lawrence Welk. The Boys’ instrumental skills, including steel guitar, banjo and mandolin, are handsomely showcased on ‘Wildwood Flower’, while their ‘King Ganam Style’ is good clean fun.