With In the West, Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern, a.k.a. The Horsenecks, release another set of moving songs with dynamic instrumentals. As with previous albums, including their 2015 self-titled debut, the duo mine country, folk, and bluegrass playbooks, continuing to hone a brand of revamped traditionalism.
The project launches with “Baker City Blues,” establishing an old-timey, we’re-gathering-on-the-porch vibe. Rick Epps adds a warm harmonica to Macrae’s buoyant fiddle and Southern’s anchoring guitar. The musicians move between restraint and raucousness, occasionally withdrawing from each other, as if to recalibrate, then stepping ebulliently into a collaborative space.
