CD Review

The one word thrown surrounding Nickel Creek that I am completely tired of is the term “newgrass.” Many have attempted to tag them with this pseudo genre tag, to describe the band’s mix of bluegrass sound with young energetic vocals and style. Well, I'd like to jump out on a limb and kill that word, because the band has certainly smashed it and the perception of their sound with Why Should the Fire Die?

On Why Should the Fire Die?, Nickel Creek takes a similar yet more defined approach to play their hand in the pop world. Some tracks not only hint at pop, but rather suggest the band has never known otherwise. This could be due in part to the switch in production, as the band dumped longtime producer Allison Krause in favor of Tony Berg and Eric Valentine (Smash Mouth, Queens of the Stone Age, Good Charlotte). But don’t turn down the dial just yet though, hardcore North Carolina fans. Chris Thile and company still manage to churn out a great acoustic album, and it’s certainly not a complete departure from what got them where they are today.

Rock solid vocals from Thile and the hypnotic sound of Sara Watkins are ever present, especially on the track “Tomorrow is a long time” where Watkins shines. “When in Rome” is another track that stands out, as it ignites this effort with a “here we are again and this time we are driving” type statement from the band. However, the track that stands head and shoulders above the rest and leaps the crossover stepping stone for Nickle Creek has to be “Jealous of the Moon.” Co-written by Gary Louris of the recently defunct The Jayhawks, it has radio play written all over it.

So the new direction and push on genre walls is obvious from Why Should the Fire Die? The continued vocal and percussion strengths are ever present and the songwriting appears to be ramping up for Nickel Creek. Still, this album is a grower. Let it sit in your head for a week and just try not to hum a melody out of natural response. “Newgrass” is no longer, and excellent music has taken over.