The Conversation

The generous amount of music offered on The Conversation by Pete's Posse may not get you much closer to identifying what exactly the trio pledge their allegiance to. The album art displays a multitude of stringed instruments deployed by three men of different ages, and all three are heard on the album singing both lead and harmony vocals. Their website notes that the group continues to be showcased at contradance weekends in and around their home base in the state of Vermont, where they're known as a ‘trad roots power trio.' Trad and roots are manifest in a panoply of Celtic modes and rhythms, which at times echo the influence of the nearby provinces of eastern Canada – particularly on the ‘Reel de Grandpere’ set. But the group's arrangements – which are garnished with tricky syncopation, fortissimo chops and sly ornamentations – seem more concerned with impressing a crowd than with preserving roots.

A lighter touch is applied to the original material here, much of it conveying messages about right livelihood, rather in the style of folk-rock hits of the 60s. The three-man vocals are often lovely, and are combined with fine fiddling on the ‘Stick Season Suite’.