CD Review - Darin & Brooke Aldridge - Faster and Farther

Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Album: Faster and Farther
Label: Mountain Home Music
Release date: Feb. 10, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars Out Of Five

The North Carolinian husband and wife team of Darin and Brooke Aldridge have hit their stride with this outstanding new bluegrass release filled with incredible musicianship and rich harmonies. Faster and Farther, their sixth project for Mountain Home Music, has an infectious energy that has so much to like including:

- "Kingdom Come" and its frantic and desperate mandolin combined with the church-like choir on the chorus. It's soulful and the slowdown on the end draws you in like a film score. 

- Phenomenal dobro work throughout the project 

- Darin's Steve Wariner-like vocals on this River"

- Vintage Vince Gill back-up vocals on "Highway of Heartache"

- The familiarity and yet new interpretations on "Fit For a King" (Garth Brooks) and "Someday Soon" (Suzy Boguss/Moe Bandy) 

- The fantastic storytelling on "Eugene and Diane" of (timely) love-lost because of class/economic differences. (Editor's note: It's hard to find sad endings these days anywhere but in bluegrass.)

Yet it's the soaring and impeccable vocals of Brooke Aldridge that are the repeated highlights of the album. Her voice is commanding and match the production perfectly. Taking nothing away from Darin's tracks, each time Brooke takes the vocal reins, her beautiful delivery delivers on nearly every song. All in all, this is a project that delivers incredibly well and should be in a music collection for anyone who is a fan of modern bluegrass.