Last Small Town

"The Dark Side” Last Small Town

LASTSMALLTOWNLast Small Town is a bluegrass quartet that is about as close to traditional as you can get. Among the 16 tracks on its new CD, "The Dark Side," there are country ballads and a lot of originals along with bluegrass, but they fit right into the sound of days gone by.

“The Dark Side” indicates that the songs are a reflection of the less than sunny side of life, as you might guess from titles that include “Take Me In Chains,” “Long Black Veil,” and “The Old Time Drunkard.” According to the band's motto, it puts "the blues back in bluegrass,” but it is blues as in feeling low, not as in a 12-bar or Delta style.
Of course, bluegrass tends to be fast, bouncy, and lively if it is done right. Last Small Town does it expertly, so this somewhat counteracts the melancholy lyrics. The tunes never drag despite the subject matter, and even the mid-tempo ones are rhythmically propelled at a brisk pace. The cover photo showing the sad-looking band members in jail should not make you think this is a downer CD.

The music tells stories about timeless problems like love gone bad. And there are some lighter tracks like “Edna and the Fish.” I’m not sure what that is about, but you can’t go wrong with a title like that.

This is a local group, but the songs sound like they've just arrived from south of the Mason-Dixon line. Even the recording sounds authentic, with a warm vinyl-like sound. The only difference is the standup bass, which is hard to hear in many older recordings, but here is louder in the mix.

The country is getting swallowed up by the cities around here, so it’s good to hear a small town feel in something.

Last Small Town is Steve Thompson (guitar), Andy Kortyna (fiddle), Janyce Hess (bass), and Fred Gilmartin (mandolin), with all but Kortyna on vocals. The group’s name comes from a quote by John Hartford, “Bluegrass is like America’s last small town. Everybody knows everybody. And you don’t have to lock your doors.” - Morning call