Someone’s got to Pay

Anyone who’s seen this four-piece country band live will have been impressed by the way they manage to make serious music look and sound like so much fun. With ten-gallon hats and an old-time sense of storytelling that ripples with humour and wisdom, this band from Missouri seem to work together effortlessly to make a rollicking sound that harks back to early country music and honky-tonk.

This 2008 recording, now available in the UK, manages to capture most of that vibe on 20 tracks, which were informed by a real-life murder trial that guitar, banjo and Dobro player Phil Wade witnessed from the jury. The court case – a man who shot his ex-wife for spurning his love – reminded Wade of the classic old murder ballads and this album tells the story, interspersed with tales of small-town characters and woeful heartbreak. Like a good story, the tracks rise and fall in tension. Pianist Ike Sheldon’s melancholic interludes tinkle alongside fiddle-player Betse Ellis’ gorgeous full-swinging fiddle tunes, whose roots lie in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. Tracks like ‘Hey Little Darlin’ show off how well the band works together, the tight ensemble pinned around Ike’s soaring sweet voice and complemented by the mandolin and accordion. ‘Sittin’ on a Jury: The Prosecution’ has a heavier rock feel. Together, this collection of tales makes up a set of fine music that’s both tender and electric: storytelling at its very best.