Chains & stakes

"'Chains & Stakes' [is] a cinematic carnival crowded with lovers, losers, the drunk, and the doomed. The opener, 'Blood on the Mind,' kicks off with a rattling rhythm, like a bumpy train ride west. The lyrics are direct, the vocals upfront. There's murder and there's mayhem, and the deck is stacked ... Throughout the album, the tempo fluctuates; when it rises, there's ecstatic abandon, the caboose flying loose, and rocketing rhythms stoking the engines. Yet, for every breakneck Bill Monroe boogie, there's a mournful meditation or midnight incantation".

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"For the last decade, the suspender-clad prog-grass, alt-Americana ensemble has become known for its boundary-pushing, traditionalist-shirking brand of bluegrass-folk ... 'Chains and Stakes' is nothing we haven't heard from The Dead South before. The songs are just another extension of their musical prowess, each an adequate addition to their equally unsurprising catalog. It may be predictable - perhaps obvious - but it's an enjoyable release all the same".

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"It's an album laden with twisted tales of black eyes, ghosts and spiked drinks to a jaunty, upbeat goldrush sound. These are songs that don't need forensic detail to understand or appreciate them. The no-gloss and lack of schmexy production values lets the authenticity of the quartet (baritone Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle on mandolin, cellist Danny Kenyon and banjo player Colton Crawford) soar. And despite the authenticity of their Americana sounds, there is still somehow enough variety and momentum to keep you hooked".

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