Finnders & Youngberg – FY5
Bluegrass/country
http://findersandyoungberg.com/
“I’ve been sold on you since day one.” The heartbreak is palpable; the yearning in Mike Finders’ voice implicitly crying. A bevy of beautific singers swing some joy as the full band join in the very feel good gospel infused “Give A Little Back.” There’s old timey .. and at times a sense that it all does somehow remind me a bit of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks circa somewhere in the 70s… but really that’s a very fleeting thing. Erin Youngberg grabs hold of her own “For Old Time’s Sake” and with the fellas swinging and singing behind her the sashay is all flapper and tease…. and then turns around in the next song and rails against loneliness as a women left “out on the open plains, all alone in the cold dry winds” in the Mike Finders penned “Nebraska.” “Driftwood” is by far my favorite of the Mike Finders penned and sung tracks on the album. It’s one of those songs that makes you want to push the repeat button … repeatedly even — it’s got one of the most kick ass and tightest vocal harmony arrangements I’ve ever heard. And at the end, Mike’s palpable yearning in the love song “Just A Friend” is a performance that truly would rival anything heard on the radio in the 50s, 60s, or 70s … or on one of Colorado’s great public/community radio stations today.
Finders & Youngberg a few years ago released the very excellent debut “Keep Your Suitcase Packed.” It was one of the most spun records in 2009 at public/community radio around the state. In its first month out at radio around the state in April “FY5” debuted at #2, before landing at #1 for most spins in June 2010. I expect it will be near the #1 position by the time we get to the year end charts in December… and to be a serious contender for best bluegrass/country album of the year.
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