When the band raises its hair and saunters gently into rocking terrain, such as “Back Alley Blues” and “Virginia”, it - ironically enough - loses some of its power and certainly some of its fine sense of nuance, but never so much of either as to derail the record. Ryan Boldt’s often icy but always emotive voice works its magic on “Mary’s Gone” and the hymnal, Band-ish “The Banks of the Leopold Canal”, among others. The titular track offers more of the same with eerie (that word again), foreboding vocals and chilly folk instrumentation, sounding alternately like despair and redemption. More than that it proves that roots music has always had pop edges and that you can get people’s fists pumping and feet moving without mimicking Bruce Springsteen’s mid-1980s stadium anthems. The opening “Westside Street” is a curiosity, sounding like an eerie, late-night cut born of A.M. This is the group’s fourth release and first since 2009’s fine Winter Hours but the wait - as short as it’s been - has been more than worth it. Retrieved May 14, 2021.Hailing from the deep dark woods of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, this rugged outfit makes its Sugar Hill debut with The Place I Left Behind, a 13-song, hour-long affirmation of the band’s reputation as solid leaders in the American roots music scene.
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