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Get back to the range with Old Crow Medicine Show

Mention Nashville to most music fans and their thoughts will immediately turn to traditional country music. No matter the genre of country, its spiritual home seems to have ended up in that state, the same state that is home to the Old Crow Medicine Show. With a home town like that and a name like that, there is no way this band could be anything other than a stomping bluegrass outfit with melodic twists, and thankfully there is no let down.

Thankfully, especially for lovers of country music, the stigma and embarrassment of the genre has long disappeared. Sure, comedians and haters will point to Billy Ray Cyrus and line-dancing but with the deification of Johnny Cash and modern bands such as Wilco, Lambchop and Ryan Adams, country music has never been in ruder health.

With a combination of covers, traditional songs and new band compositions, 'Big Iron World' skips along at a fair pace, and what it may lack in originality, it more than qualifies in authenticity and good time swagger. Like a lot of good country records, it also highlights the short distance between country and blues with the stomping beat and downtrodden tales being interchangeable between both styles.

Lyrically, there is almost nothing to differentiate between the groundbreaking days of traditional music, with reference to domestic violence, drug abuse, the power of the union and religious salvation all peppered around the album, delivered with vigour and belief. The vocals are shared around a few band members but Ketch Secor crops up more often than not and his voice carries a warm yet trembling timbre which works superbly with the simplistic backing track.

Light fans of country music may be intrigued to see that Gillian Welch pops up on numerous songs and her inclusion provides another easy reference point and also benefits the band by providing known name.

There may be twelve tracks but clocking in at not much over the half hour indicates the brevity of the songs, sticking to the traditional style of song writing, with little time for preening but the harmonicas and fiddles still manage to buzz around gleefully.

On a largely consistent album, there's not much in the way of a standout but 'I Hear Them all' and 'Minglewood blues' are largely upbeat while 'My Good Gal' covers the downbeat, country Neil Young style rather well.

As a go-between the Americana style and the traditional elements, the Old Crow Medicine Show have pulled off a cracking little album here and it's one that should enthrall fans of the genre in no time at all.