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THE GIBSON BROTHERS Red Letter Day Sugar Hill  ****

Just as we are about to despair about the state of Nashville country along comes the new Gibson Brothers CD - and the music once again sounds as if it has soul. These two bluegrass-loving brothers have been shaping up quite well since they made their debut in 1994, their close-knit harmonies and dexterous interplay colouring every song and redolent of major influences such as the Louvin Brothers. There's a certain timelessness to their sound; even their rock'n'roll covers (Bobby Womack's It's All Over Now, Ray Charles's I Got a Woman) have a kind of fresh-faced enthusiasm, as do their judicious selection of other writers such as Kieran Kane. In this heady mix, their own songs don't sound out of place, which is a tribute in itself. www.sugarhillrecords.com

Joe Breen