Before I get much further, I want to make sure that I don’t mislead any bluegrass purists by calling “Gravity” a bluegrass CD. James Moors and Kort McCumber would be the first to tell you that they pull influence from many genres, including Celtic, folk, blues, and country. The vocal harmonies and the string interplay that are the essence of the duo’s chemistry play well in the bluegrass arena, but are certainly not limited to it.

“Against the Grain” takes the band another step down the road to musical diversity. Kort McCumber has added the rich tone and textures of the cello to several of the tracks. Most of the lead vocals on the disc are by James Moors, with McCumber in close harmony. Moors’ voice has that smooth texture that reminds me of Rodney Crowell and his lyrics are poignant and often nostalgic in tone. McCumber seems to be one of those fellows that can get music out of anything, with or without strings. The credits show him playing a list of twenty instruments on this disc alone. All of the tunes on this disc keep my interest. There is no track skipping on this one, ya’ll.

“Love and War” plays on a really great lyrical hook over a deep cello rhythm and excellent vocal harmonies. “Buried in Stone” uses beautiful imagery to tell of seeing potential art in the common things of life. “I Used to Run Around” leans a bit toward the Celtic side of these two proud Irish-Americans, featuring the Irish tin pipes and Irish tenor banjo on the story of a rounder’s surrender to the fate of settling down. “It’s Different Now” is a beautiful tune that makes me think of an American folk ballad imposed over a classical string quartet featuring the cello, Irish bouzouki, Irish tenor banjo, pump organ, electric guitar and electric bass.

“Slan Abhaile” is one of the most interesting tunes on the disc. The title translates from Irish roughly to “Ya’ll be careful on the trip home, now”. They feature the Irish tin whistle and fiddle West African talking drums, delving deeply into the roots of American roots music on a rhythm and repetition that works for either Celtic or West African music.

The only cover song on this recording is Ellis Paul’s “Martyr’s Lounge” (the guys covered Ellis’s “3000 Miles” on “Gravity”, so I detect a pattern of respect here) and it is one of the two tunes on the disc that feature Kort McCumber on lead vocals. James Moors is in the harmony and helps to weave a string tapestry playing acoustic and electric guitars to McCumber’s bouzouki and Wurlitzer.

“Feeling in Your Belly” brings back the pop bluegrass feeling with enough na-na-na’s to fill a Beatles song, lyrics that draw a picture of a rural working class community, and a soulful harmonica solo.  “Raining Down in Georgia”, Kort’s other lead vocal tune, plays on the duplicity of water, that “gives us life” when it rains and “takes away” when it floods, in a country blues package. “Hey, Hey” is a bluegrass progression that presents that feeling of well-being when the work is all done and you can just sit on the porch and enjoy friends and family. The disc closes out with the title track, “Against the Grain”. The sentiment is one of persistence against adversity with a simple guitar part behind the vocal harmonies and a cello part to take us out.

I’ve got to say that Moors and McCumber deliver a live performance that has all of the energy that two people that enjoy playing together can generate. They seem to know each other’s minds like trapeze artists or team jugglers do. I don’t know that a studio disc can completely deliver that live energy. “Against the Grain” does exhibit a team effort by two troubadours that have found a way to create together like Crosby and Nash or Simon and Garfunkle did in days past. This disc takes Americana back to where it came from and where it lives. Look for it June 1st.