NICKEL CREEK
Why Should the Fire Die?
Sugar Hill
· These good folk aren’t up the creek without paddles.
Why Should the Fire Die? is a fine soundtrack for a lazy day of good reading, broken-heart mending and contemplative quietness. It has all the markings of a solid folk record – upbeat, Celtic-sounding instrumentals; a Bob Dylan cover ("Tomorrow is a Long Time"); and, of course, many questions about the meaning of it all. The spaces between lazily plucked mandolin and guitar notes are beautiful resting places for life’s deep questions.
Nickel Creek are at their best with their simple, stripped-down acoustic songs. The more polished drum-driven songs don’t work as well – their tight harmonies get lost in the beat and it sounds overproduced. The three musicians in Nickel Creek have captivating voices that shine on their own, and their music is strongest when the instruments complement those vocals instead of competing with them.
Thankfully, most of the songs on this record are of the stripped-down sort that leave one’s ears ringing with haunting echoes of the sacred.
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