This Side,
Nickel Creek's sophomore release, finds bandmembers
Chris Thile,
Sara Watkins, and
Sean Watkins out of their teens and into their twenties after playing together for 12 years. The southern California band's self-titled debut received wide critical acclaim for welding jazz, rock, and classical music to a bluegrass base. But
This Side solidifies
Nickel Creek's position as the single most original and inventive bluegrass band to emerge in the early '00s. Hardcore bluegrass fans wary of experimentation or even progressive bluegrass may scoff at this claim. But, when it comes down to it, the gorgeous, open production by
Alison Krauss gives
Nickel Creek's guitars, mandolins, and fiddles the space to dance through sparkling and genuine arrangements. Covers of everything from
Pavement's rollicking
Terror Twilight highlight, "Spit on a Stranger," to
Carrie Newcomer's scathing folk "Should've Known Better" to the traditional "House Carpenter" are given elegant and unique twists. Plus,
Thile and the
Watkins siblings' originals, like the sleepy, subtle "Speak" and the darker "Beauty and the Mess," easily outdo the likes of folk-rockers
Dave Matthews and
Hootie & the Blowfish, while forging a new style to rejuvenate a genre that has always been a bit of a dark horse. It's decidedly more pop than post-rock-gone-folk outfits like
Papa M,
David Grubbs,
Palace, and
Miighty Flashlight, and lacks the rock & roll flash of
Ryan Adams. But
Nickel Creek's music is endlessly rewarding nonetheless, and accessible to just about everyone. ~ Charles Spano