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The Mickeys' lead vocalists Amy Sherman and Julie
Peebles display smooth vocal harmonies like the complementing
registers of The Pierces, and modern Americana-folk tunage
reminiscent of The Greencards. The group's latest album Walk
Along is flavored with twangy slide guitar patterns and the dobra's
airy flange performed by Bascom Peebles, who co-produces the
album with Julie and Amy. Wanda Vick's handling of the mandolin,
fiddle, banjo, and additional dobro chords add bluegrass tones that,
when strollered alongside the wavy harmonica notes played by Jim
Hoke, kindle sequences of softly burning fuses. It's an album
filled with sudsy bluegrass rivers and sprigs of country-folk growths
emblematic of America's prairie-land. Held together by acoustic guitarist
Steven Sheehan, drummer Pete Young, and bassist Dow
Tomlin, the tracks on Walk Along have classic country-folk
wavelets and a warmth that is indelibly homey.
With a tinge of Celtic-folk shimmers lining the instrumentation of
"Caroline," the album sets the scene for homebound visions
as Sherman and Peebles sing, "The secrets of an untouched isle
were yours and mine for a while / Northern lights illuminate / A vision
that carries me away to this place / Oh sweet Caroline / Moments still
clear in my mind… The stars they dance like fireflies on the
shores of Caroline / Sweet Caroline." The jolly rhythmic tapping
of the title track is bordered by bluegrass stitching, and the soft
fluttering in the acoustic wavelets of "I Believe" produce
spiritual lifts and moments of introspection. Many of the messages
in the songs emote positive feelings strapped to an upbeat step in
the rhythmic knolls like in "Greatest Thing" and "Feel
The Way I Do." Others rejoice with a mellow stroking like "Going
Home" and "The River," and sometimes The Mickeys indulge
in a gentle country-porch-calypso-sway, like in "Take It Slow."
The lullaby swinging of "Stay With Me" is comfortably pillowed
by tender acoustics, while the country-pop voltage of "Standing
In The Rain" stirs up the melodic furls and merge the instruments
into rolls of tight bundles. The final track "Alright For Now"
has cushiony country tones that wander blissfully and smooth out evenly.
The Mickeys' latest release Walk Along is the follow up to
their 2003 debut album Finding Our Way. Their music exudes
a genuine affinity for modern Americana-pop skylines and country-folk
grottos. Their album is the product of earnest teamwork and brings
out the best in bluegrass modulations.
-Susan Frances
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