Mossy Creek

Local bluegrass band Mossy Creek’s second CD is a friendly collection of 11 tunes. Four of the tracks are originals—two from banjoist/Dobroist/vocalist Pat Haley, and two from Dobroist/ guitarist/vocalist Dean Mott. Lead vocalist Erin Haley’s voice is reliably pleasant, though often more technically than soulfully savvy, perhaps partly due to her relatively young years. But it is more than refreshing to hear Mott sing lead on two of the songs, one of them his country-style original, “Cold Memory”: “The blood and tears/ Have through the years/ Finally set me free/ And all that we have/ Is a cold memory.” Mott tends to sing back-up in this group, but when he takes the lead he has the most authentically bluegrass-country voice of the ensemble. His twangy, yodelly, engaging lead singing on Lester Flatt’s “Sleep With One Eye Open” is the show stealer on this disc. Mandolinist Kim Gimbal’s low-down bass back-up singing on this one is perfect, as is electric bassist Lancer Hardy’s poppin’ un-bluegrassy solo break.