Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

When a band, revered, unknown or considered with indifference by the greater music buying public starts to release side projects, no matter how good or popular, it always feels as though that there is an underlying issue waiting to come out and hit the bands fans in the face with a soaking wet and mud filled dirty sock, the shock seemingly coming as a surprise to everyone except those who started the thought of solo recordings under the group umbrella in the first place.

Hopefully that isn’t the case with the Dixie Chicks but however good though Court Yard Hounds are, the particular side project set up by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, there will always be nagging doubts that will be in the back of some people’s minds. That though detracts from the new album Amelita and its pleasant collection of songs that does much to further enhance the growing resurgence in popularity in the country music genre.

The outrageously good fiddle playing that is dominant on the album frames Emily Robison’s gracious vocals for every second that the recording lasts for and whilst the Amelita could be considered generic by some, the music hides a deep passion within its heart and the lyrics are written with the idea of enjoyment in mind, to laze in the long green grass with the sun beating down and the sound of nature buzzing along in tune as they dot along the blue summer sky. It is music that not only is relaxing to listen to, it is a warm embrace that says things don’t always have to be negative, that cruelty and confrontation are modes that can be by-passed in exchange for constructive consensus.

Chiefly amongst these balmy tracks are the opener Sunshine, The World Smiles, A Guy Like You and Gets You Down, tracks that swim against the tide and whilst they won’t feature heavily in the prodigious tracks remembered in 2013, they at least will put a beam across the face so large that you won’t forget where you first heard them and the memory of this summer will last that little bit longer.

Ian D. Hall