The Kite & The Key

Hot Buttered Rum

2016 - Hot Buttered Rum. This is our first introduction to this group.  Deemed more Folk or progressive Bluegrass, this group consists of Nat Keefe, Erik Yates, Bryan Horne, Zebulon Bowles, Lucas Carlton and Time Carbone.  As for the first intro, we are not sold.  This album consists of one CD that features three parts of eighteen songs in which the band includes six covers of songs that The Stanley Brother—Ralph and Carter—once recorded and or performed.  The rest of the songs are either written by Keefe or Yates.  Most of the songs contain a great hook within the chorus but go way off on the verses.  There is one song that kind of stands out, but only stands out due to the lack of words.  In “I Wanna Know” the boys sing this song with very few lyrics.  This is an interesting song would have been much better if they would have elaborated a bit more.  It’s the final six songs that you can find a bit of talent, although very limited.  The song “Music’s Been Good To Me” features a great storyline mixed to a Cajun style melody that is quite reminiscent of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” among others. This group can create some beautiful instrumentals.  However, these instrumentals are then destroyed by the lack of vocal capabilities mixed with substandard songwriting.  The proof behind this statement is found in “Middle Country Stars” as the melody captures your attention only to bring in the deplorable vocals and lyrics that force you to turn the song off!  The best song on the album is the closing song called “House On The Hill.” Nonetheless, it too consists of an incredible Cajun melody that is destroyed with vocals and lyrics.  This is one album that would sound much better if they released it as an instrumental.  That being said, I highly suggest that this group finds better lyrists and vocalist.  With Cajun melodies like these—well they are being wasted, due to the lyrics and limited vocals that lack the ingenuity need to bring the rest of the song to life! I score this high for the melodies and nothing more…$$

(This review was printed in the September / October 2017 issue of Strictly Country Magazine.)

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