Soothing bluegrass melodies. Expert skill on steel and acoustic guitars, and the occasional dobro. Expressive vocal harmonies. These hallmarks of up-and-coming alternative country band Pinmonkey should satisfy anyone hungry for passionate country music.
But something’s missing — memorability. After listening to Pinmonkey’s third album “Big Shiny Cars” — due out in March — even several dozen times, I still can’t sing along to a single track. 0Front man Michael Reynolds’ tenor voice defies the norm in a genre known for the deep tones of Jeff Bates, Josh Turner and Trace Adkins. Although Reynolds produces a fantastic sound when judged by voice quality alone, lead vocals in such a high key distract the listener’s ear for the majority of “Big Shiny Cars.”
Only in “Mountain Song,” one of the few songs to effectively display the lead tenor voice, does Reynolds’ key enhance the group’s sound instead of detract from it. Genuine and moving, “Mountain Song” combines Reynolds’ pure tone with delicious harmonies and fantastic acoustic guitar to create traditional mountain music akin to that of bluegrass sensation Alison Krauss and Union Station.
“Shady Grove” also draws on bluegrass influences, carrying a toe-tapping rhythm and an expertly played dobro. But the chorus — which essentially repeats the line, “I wanna find me a little shady grove,” seven or eight times after each verse — rings the death knoll for “Shady Grove.” Without a catchy hook, Pinmonkey’s talented musicianship falls to the level of background music.
The title track plods along like a preschooler after an 18-hour day at Disney World. Sucking energy from its listeners and denying them any vocal variance or melodic interest, “Big Shiny Cars” is one of those miserable songs that reaches for “soulful,” but achieves “uninspired” and “stodgy.”
“Down,” penned by country legend Dolly Parton, contains the inspirational message of hope-in-the-face-of-setbacks within its country rock shell. However, as has proven typical of “Big Shiny Cars,” the song depends on a lame chorus that pushes it back into mediocrity.
An alternative country song along the lines of Keith Urban, “Living Proof” represents one of Pinmonkey’s greatest musical achievements on “Big Shiny Cars” — the successful — and memorable — union of graceful harmonies, inviting melodies and addictive lyrics.
Instead of following the pattern of typical Pinmonkey choruses — which merely repeat either the song’s title or an easily forgotten phrase — “Living Proof” offers a catchy, insightful hook. “Lying has become so damn easy / But underneath it all, there’s still the truth / Say what you will / Some hearts just don’t heal / And baby, we are living proof.”
At its best, Pinmonkey blends alternative country and bluegrass into an intriguing mix of rollicking rhythms, delicate harmonies and artful manipulation of steel guitar and dobro.
At its worst, however, flavorless, monotonous lyrics — and the memory of band’s very existence — go in one ear and out the other.
