With their latest album, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys navigate another set chock-full of drawls, twangs, harmonies, and foot-stomping rhythms. Welcome to the Club, like previous projects, honors the quintet’s heroes — Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers, among others — while effusing a contemporary flair, the Tennessee-born band reveling in next-level interplays, infectious melodies, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.
“Bottom of a Glass” is a weep-in-your-whiskey ditty that could make George Jones flash a grin, though singer C.J. Lewandowski realizes that distraction isn’t a long-term solution (“You can’t hide your sorrow / you can’t forget your past / hiding in the bottom of a glass”). Jerome Brown on banjo, then Lewandowski on mandolin, and, finally, Max Silverstein on fiddle trade off compelling solos.
“Please Bartender” elaborates on the “drink you off my mind” motif, unfurling like a jukebox track in a post-Prohibition speakeasy. The singer (Brown) is a heartbroken man who wants to keep imbibing, even though “last call” has come and gone, and the place is closing. Silverstein’s sultry fiddle is juxtaposed with guest Jesse Personini’s fluid pedal-steel part and Lewandowski’s ebullient mandolin.
