Well, he dresses like an old man, and his voice is leaden with world-weariness beyond his years, but Juno-award winning Canadian banjo player and songwriter
Old Man (Chris) Luedecke
has springtime in his fingertips.
Luedecke
is musically a traditionalist more than a revisionist, and his Americana is one part bluegrass sprightliness and one part heart-wrenching Appalachian lament. On this fourth full-length release, he continues the run of excellent songs and expert pickin' that he started on his 2005 debut. Close attention rewards listeners with gem-filled lyrics --
updates his rootsy songs by pairing them with clever and decidedly modern words, with a miniaturist's eye for details about cell phones, digital watches, and love gone right and wrong.
"Macchu Picchu"
has a wry, descending hook that highlights rueful lyrics of geography-challenged lovers.
"My Love Comes Stepping Up the Stairs"
is a layered new-love song with a surprisingly mournful sound (and a violin hook that, probably unconsciously, echoes the riff from the
Angel
television show theme song). On the upbeat album closer
"Inchworm,"
he sings of hard-won hope: "If I stay a springtime green/It's through a thousand dirty falls." Here's wishing
a thousand more dirty falls, if they result in music this sweet. ~ Paula Carino