New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - Cherryholmes, two-time-Grammy nominees and 2005 International Bluegrass
Music Association's Entertainers of the Year, return with their third album for Skaggs Family Records, Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe. Recorded in Nashville at Ricky Skaggs' Skaggs Place Studio and produced by Ben Isaacs (of another legendary family band, The Isaacs), the disc showcases a group that's grown more musically sophisticated and lyrically complex without losing the aggressive instrumental style and family harmonic blend for which they are known.
More evident on Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe than any previous release is the band's fearless approach to composition. The band wrote all but one track on the record, something virtually unheard of in the bluegrass community. Standout songs include the album opener, "I Can Only Love You So Much," which features Cherryholmes' eldest daughter Cia Leigh, singing with a mixture of anger and disappointment to a lover who may have let her down for the last time. Despite its subject matter, it's an irresistible up-tempo toe-tapper, with impressive "work from sister Molly and just the right amount of twang from brother Skip's guitar. It's one of seven tracks written by Cia, who continues to grow as a performer and songwriter - Time Out New York recently called her "a future star," and The New Times praised her as "a strong songwriter and banjo player as well as a singer."
Other notable works include the mournful patriotic song, "This Is My Son," again sung by Cia, told from the point of view of a mother sending her son off to war. "Broken," written and sung by Cia with orchestral arrangement by Molly, is a heartbreaking story of a woman who feels so alone after being left by her lover that she literally cries herself to death. Cherryholmes' instrumental boldness is manifested in the instrumental tunes "Sumatra" and the medley "Mansker Spree/O'Caughlin's Reel"
More than anything, Cherryholmes is a unit whose pieces work together in literal harmony. Check out "Don't Believe" to hear Skip Cherryholmes set a land speed record for guitar picking. Mom Sandy composed and sings the heartfelt ballad "King As A Babe Comes Down." Molly's fiddle adds a mournful touch wherever it appears. BJ plays mandolin throughout, and lends his voice to several tracks, including a watertight harmony with Cia on "Traveler." Then, of course, there's Dad - Jere Cherryholmes. His banter keeps everything together at their live shows and his reliable, metronymic bass work keeps everything together on record.
Cherryholmes' two previous Skaggs Family releases - 2005's 'Cherryholmes' and 2007's 'Cherryholmes II: Black and White' - both earned Grammy nominations for best bluegrass album of the year. It's hard to imagine this one being any different.
