专辑简介

This is the eponymous debut album of Boston acoustic band Joy Kills Sorrow. A good piece of history for anyone who is a fan of the current Joy Kills Sorrow line-up or of Heather Masse (The Wailin’ Jennys)or of Joe Walsh (The Gibson Brothers) both of whom are featured on the album. More importantly though, it is altogether a good album of songs!

Stylistically, it is markedly different from the current incarnation of Joy Kills Sorrow, focusing more on traditional material and the particular strengths of the band members at the time. Masse’s vocals really shine, and her improvisational talents have room to soar over the subtle textures the instrumentalists create. Subtlety is the name of the game here and Walsh’s delicate mandolin combines beautifully with Adam Larrabee’s inventive and conservatory-informed banjo playing, as well as Matt Arcara’s guitar picking, which is remarkably restrained for a man who won the national flat picking championships in the same year this album was recorded. Bridget Kearney adds some umph on the upright bass and the whole band comes together as an ensemble showing great vision, promise and taste.