AXTON KINCAID
Silver Dollars
(Free Dirt/ Trade Root Music Group)
By Todd Lavoie
Bay Area three-part-harmony whizzes Axton Kincaid might no longer remain as geographically close to each other – three-fifths of the band recently relocated to Portland, Ore. – but their musical kinship appears as mighty as ever with their latest release, Silver Dollars.
Dishing out 11 barnburners, honky-tonk stompers, and beer-sobbers over the course of 35 minutes, these folks are the real deal: genuine, heartfelt, and pleasantly irony-free. While some of the younger, urban exponents of rootsy sounds tend to approach country, folk, and bluegrass idioms with a bit of emotional distance, Axton Kincaid feel closer to the source – not to mention more reverential to the material which inspired them in the first place.
Many months ago, I’d described the band as an updated Carter Family. The assessment still rings true, but I’d also stick them in the same class as the Be Good Tanyas, Freakwater, or the Walkabouts, all of whom display an obvious love for classic twang while still bringing a little contemporary attitude along the way.