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40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh subjects, melodic arrangements that don't fit one key, August 8, 2004
From my reviewing friend, Matt Snook:
The album "Nickel Creek" currently has more air-time than any other around our house, surpassing the likes of Natalie MacMaster (superlative Celtic fiddler) and Blue Highway with Rob Ickes. Like many people I've heard at jam sessions and festivals, we're learning the Nickel Creek style breaks for "Cuckoo's Nest," and trying to tackle "Ode To A Butterfly" and "In the House of Tom Bombadil." Anna has even begun interrupting her fiddle practices (which involve learning Sara Watkins' fiddle licks) to start learning the mandolin. These guys (and gal) have definitely influenced our music and amazed us with their playing abilities and musical style. Needless to say, we were thrilled when Joe Ross allowed us to review the new album for the NWBluegrass Group. Using all of the fatherly wisdom I could muster, I warned the kids not to be disappointed in their first encounter with the new album. "These are all creative people, and will most likely not play anything like the music on their first album, but it will be good." I still think I was right. Still, because most of us know Nickel Creek only from that first album, most of this review will comprise a comparison of the two.
So how does "Nickel Creek: This Side" compare to their "debut" album? Nearly half of the first album was instrumental. This makes sense when all three band members are award winning musicians. But "This Side" has only one. Whereas the instrumentals on "Nickel Creek" had either a bluegrass or Celtic flavor with a newgrass/jazz/swing approach, the "Smoothie Song" (featuring bouzouki) is more of a bluesy-grass tune. I like it. I want more of it, but there's only one. Vocally the two albums are similar. Sara sings with a wispy, airy voice and Chris is very animated in his interpretations of misery. Sean sings lead on two of the songs, and "heartfelt" comes to mind. Whatever you think of their individual voices, the harmonies are superb. The lyrics on "This Side" cover the same wide range of their first album. Some are traditional songs with simple lyrics focusing on familiar topics. Things like love and other relationships, with easily interpreted lyrics. "House Carpenter" and maybe "Sabra Girl" fit this category. Then there are some blues oriented songs like "Should've Known Better" (by singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer).
Others like "Green and Gray," which is folk-style but has a more modern twist involving the conflicts between career and relationships, and using an archery target for an unusual metaphor. Then there are those, like "Out of the Woods" on the first album that seem to be a matter of your own interpretation. There are several of those on "This Side."
A word about "newgrass." According to our own poll, most people think that Nickel Creek is newgrass. I think this is misleading as a description of Nickel Creek's first album, and doesn't apply to "This Side" either. Newgrass, as it has evolved over the last few decades, seems like a cross between rock-n-roll and bluegrass. Most of it is simply using "acoustic" instruments with rock-n-roll chord patterns, scales, and rhythms to arrange old rock songs, or songs with the same feel. That is not Nickel Creek's approach. Some songs, like "Sabra Girl" and "House Carpenter" are traditional in feel, but with more harmonic sophistication than a I-IV-V folk tune. They do a blues-type tune, "Should've Know Better," but with syncopation and a modal feel reminiscent of Celtic music. "Spit on a Stranger" (by defunct indie-rock band Pavement) and "Brand New Sidewalk" are simply unique. I think they would take you by surprise in any context. Most newgrass is much more formulaic, and contains few surprises. Nickel Creek is beyond newgrass.
Another approach to evaluating this album might be to ask why we buy any particular record. People might be interested in a source of new instrumental licks. I know Chris Thile's banjo-like mandolin cross-picking from the first album is certainly inspiring, and both Sara and Sean play some things people will be emulating for a long time. Or maybe like each of the Hot Rize albums it will be the source of some new jam favorites? Again, the first album has already rejuvenated "Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Fox", and I know of several bands composed of the younger set that are performing "When You Come Back Down" and "The Hand Song." How about back up ideas? I'm no guitar player, but Sean's backup on "Nickel Creek" is incredible and definitely gets your head going in a different direction. But that's all on the first album. I can't see people adopting many tunes from "This Side" for any of these reasons. There's only the "Smoothie Song" for an instrumental, and while I'd like to learn it I don't imagine it would go over very well at jam sessions. The main instrument is bouzouki, so mandolinists and fans of Chris' crosspicking will be disappointed. Sara and Sean are great, but this is no tour-de-force like "In the House of Tom Bombadil" or "Robin and Marian" from the first album. How about the vocals? "Seven Wonders" has some harmonic twists which make it interesting, but with that lost chord at the end it's surely a jam buster. Somehow I just can't see "Brand New Sidewalk" or "Spit on a Stranger" becoming jam fare.
Besides the many idiosyncratic differences, the gestalt of the two albums is also divergent. "Nickel Creek" seems complete. The vocals fit the songs-they actually make the songs. Backup and fills are complimentary to both the melody and lyrics; there are no inconsistent pieces. Personal tastes aside, you get the feeling that they achieved the sound they were after. The many interwoven breaks of the instrumentals, with their harmonies and counterpoints, leave no question that they love those songs and play them like nobody else can. It sounds like music they've been playing for the last ten years and have honed to perfection. "This Side" seems immature in comparison. The lone instrumental piece is well done, but has nowhere near the complexity or subtlety of any off the first album. The breaks are independent; each simply begins when the other ends. The backup and fill behind many of the vocals is technically perfect but doesn't have that bespoke fit of "When You Come Back Down" or "The Lighthouse" from the first album.
Summary: If you're expecting standard "newgrass," looking for a bonanza of new licks and jam tunes, looking for an extension of the honed precision playing of the first album, this isn't it. If you want something completely different, with some fresh subject matter, melodic arrangements that don't fit into any one key, acoustic string playing that is a cut above the rest, and some musical ideas that you haven't had-here you go. (Matt Snook)
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another presumption bites the dust..., August 28, 2005
I hate country music and bluegrass. Period. So when a friend of mine popped Nickel Creek into his car stereo, I was reluctant to listen...but had no choice. I was intrigued at what i heard. Excellent acoustic guitar and violin instrumentation, tight vocals, and haunting melodies were abundant in "This Side". Somehow, I had grown to like an album in a genre I very much dislike. I purchased this album a couple nights later, and I'm still enjoying what I'm hearing.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply awesome..., March 20, 2003
To begin with, I'm not really a country or bluegrass devotee. I think Nickel Creek's debut album was the first bluegrass album I ever listened to, but I loved it, and I think the time that passed between NC's two albums only strengthened their skills, both individually and a group. I've read the more negative reviews of this album, and I seriously don't know what they're talking about. As an amateur musician and music lover, I think this is a fabulous album. It's all over the map, both stylistically and emotionally: "Smoothie Song" was nominated for the Best Country Instrumental Grammy (I believe), and fits the "newgrass" mold very well, while "Spit On a Stranger" is pretty much rock, and "Should Have Known Better" has the beat and bass licks of a coffeehouse jazz tune; the climax of "This Side" makes me want to jump for joy, while "The House Carpenter" makes me want to crawl under the covers and weep. The diversity of the album doesn't make it feel disjointed, though -- the vocals and instrumentation tie everything together quite nicely. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone -- bluegrass, rock, or Celtic music fans who are looking to expand their tastes; folk fans (it won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album); people who don't like having their music tastes boxed in... Simply put, I love this album, and you just might love it, too.
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