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The third albumfrom Milwaukee’s.357 String Band continues the group’s fearless and fierce refashioning ofun-amped acoustic Americana/alt country, plumbing further depths of theSaturday-night rowdy/Sunday-morning righteous dichotomy. There’s a reason theycall this music streetgrass.
Acts such as BadLivers and The Meat Purveyors have taken bluegrass to punky places, too, butthe .357 boys maintain a palpable edge by their understanding of the darkregret behind everything from heartbreak to murder. Their trick isn’t only inthe heart-racing tempos inherent to their genre; there's more lowdown angerthan the high lonesomeness others might crib from their Bill Monroe records.And there's just enough aural weirdness and tempering of the venom to keep Lightning From the North engagingthrough 14 songs.