Drop the needle. A ghostly guitar lick and the bluesy voice of Saskatchewan’s Little Miss Higgins enter the room. Backed by the low, deep rumbling ohs of the Winnipeg Five (aka The F-Holes) windowpanes begin to shake, and this heavy train of an album starts rolling. Such tracks as ‘Your House Tonight” and “Restless Heart” explore themes of lust and love, over top of dark dixieland jazz horns and minor chords, while the upbeat swing of “Keep a Song in Your Soul” and ”Dead Cow Hill” will keep your foot tapping. Country western accents of subtle pedal steel slides, banjo picks, and barbershop harmonies fill in the gaps between well written choruses, making the Bison Ranch Recording Sessions a superb release from a group of old-hand prairie roots musicians.

Published in Volume 68, Number 5 of The Uniter (October 2, 2013)