Carolina Chocolate Drops get updated, Corrosion of Conformity go back to basics, Carole King unearths some lost gems, and more Immersion from Pink Floyd
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are all but guaranteed to be the next big thing in the roots world: They’ve got charisma to match their chops, and they’ve laid claim to a realm of music — black stringband music from the pre-World War II era — that’s been nearly lost in the years since. After a lineup reshuffle, this seems designed as their breakthrough album — and with one reservation, it deserves to be. Lead singer Rhiannon Giddens is the obvious focal point; she can do both sultry blues and bawdy stomps without reminding you of anybody else. The band neither modernizes the music nor makes it sound too old-timey; they just capture the original spirit by letting the fiddles and banjos fly. Producer Buddy Miller provides a warm live sound; you can practically hear the furniture in the living room. That one reservation? In addition to touring cellist Leyla McCalla, they’ve added human beat-boxer Adam Matta to the lineup; he’s not too prominent, but the anachronism smacks of the gimmickry that the Chocolate Drops are usually smart enough to avoid.
