The Gibson Brothers
Ring the Bell
Compass
Recorded with a revitalized touring band, the brothers from upstate New York are nothing if not consistent. With their third impressive collection in a row, the formula remains true.
Strong original material is their forte, while a few well- known tunes are provided the distinctive Gibson Brothers’ treatment- not hard core or even traditional, but definitely bluegrass through and through. Their classic country influences are always apparent. Every Gibson Brothers album has a familiar tone, one that somehow simultaneously brings to mind Tom T. Hall, The Band, The Osbourne Brothers, and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers.
Eric and Leigh Gibson are bright bluegrass vocalists, and Eric’s five-string shines through their unembellished arrangements. The album opens with long, mournful fiddle notes that soon pick up into something deceptively upbeat. From descriptions of the past (Farm of Yesterday, Bottomland) to songs of a future (Forever Has No End, I Can’t Like Myself), with a bit of a stop at the church of bluegrass (Ring the Bell), the Gibson Brothers have emboldened their reputation as one of the finest contemporary bluegrass bands.
