CD Review: Lost River Cavemen - And The Circus Goes On

As the Lost River Cavemen start touring to promote their second CD, “And The Circus Goes On”,  the whimsical, perpetual,  but necessary insanity of a touring band is reflected to perfection in the album’s ever so lively title track, … ‘And the Circus Goes on’. So once again Michael McMillian and his fellow Cavemen have demonstrated the lyrical wit, strength and depth of humorists like Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, or Will Rogers that sets them completely apart from the norm.  The instrumental uniqueness of the Lost River Cavemen stands like a settler’s tree—its limbs stretching out wide to incorporate the sounds of a multitude of genres. 

The lines “yeah they laugh too loud, talk too slow, ‘cuz they from the South” are funny, but the beauty of the song is in McMillian’s quirky delivery. Through out the CD there are similar little vocal sweet-tarts like his articulation of the word ‘hippie’ in “Special Sight” or the gravel in his voice in the opening verses of “Five Good Days”.  Sweetening the pot is Kerry Pruitt’s own little vocal tricks. More so than with McMillian, you want to sing along with him on as he belts out “Troubled Man’s Prayer” or the popish love song “I Saw You Smilin’”. Both Pruitt and McMillian share their vocal range with the audience on the CD to a complete success. The only thing missing for the vocal enthusiast on this CD is the usual volume of 2 part or 3 part harmony that all us ‘grassers’ are used to hearing.

However, to compensate for this lack of vocal harmonizing, there is the instrumental arranging on “And The Circus Goes On”. Absolutely flawless at times like on “Knob Creek’s Run Dry” or  “I Don’t Mind at All”, both pieces are master pieces of the utilizations of  a fiddle, a stand up bass, an acoustic guitar and a simple drum kit. The sounds of these four instruments along with the vocals have been blended together so sweetly it is pure Kentucky honey.  How much co-producer Michael Etherton had to with the end product I have no idea, but my fedora is still off to him and the Lost River Cavemen for an outstanding album that serves us all proud.

As these four men grow into their own I have no doubt that there will be even more heart-tendering, side-splitting and toe-tapping goodness will come to be from the Lost River Cavemen. 

About the author: Franne J. has lived in 5 major cities and 7 states, but has always loved this area and considered Bowling Green home. She’s been a part of and writing about the local art and music scene, off and on, since the mid-90’s. Find her on Facebook.