Furnace Mountain – Fields of Fescue (Shepherds Ford Records) This could fit under the umbrella tag of ‘Americana’, but it’s way out near the edge - where the electricity ends, if you like. This is where the front porch players are, setting up as the sun is setting (down). I doubt they need the light, the intertwining music just drops into place whilst the somewhat forlorn female vocals invoke a day worked hard in the home, or the fields. The choice of material sometimes lacks a little diversity, where the traditional choices tend to overlap with each other, and even the two band compositions “Fields of Fescue” and “Turbo Dog” join this list. The exceptions are “Winter’s Night”, “Bad Girl”, and the standout track “Ooh Belle”. There’s a different feel to these three songs, and it is not just the tempo. The first is about leaving your woman, but coming back no matter what; the second exhorts the need for the preacher and the doctor, which, together with the title, says it all; and then there is “Ooh Belle”, sung with such fragility and feeling that you expect it to break down at any time. To quote the lyrics, “Sometimes I'm overwhelmed.” by it’s sheer beauty, which even surpasses an attempt to categorise it. I will leave it at that. www.myspace.com/furnacemountainband Kev A.   Next