Seven albums deep, North Carolina band Chatham County Line has pretty much figured things out. It’s been years since the group shook up its bluegrass foundation with pop structures and instrumentation (even, occasionally, drums!), and on Autumn, its members’ development as stellar acoustic balladeers is on full display. For all the jaunty, playful joy the band brings to up-tempo tunes like old-time instrumental “Bull City Strut” or piano-driven pop song “Show Me The Door,” Chatham County Line is at its best when the tempo drops and Dave Wilson’s plaintive voice takes the fore.
“Moving Pictures Of My Mind” is a meditative and broken-hearted ballad par excellence. “Bon Ton Roulet” gives a Cajun flavor to a spare and smoldering melody. The freewheeling spirit the band has always brought to bluegrass tradition still serves Chatham County Line well; Autumn is as solid an effort as any in its catalog.
—Bryan C. Reed
