The Long-Awaited Album
arrived six years after
Rare Bird Alert
, the 2011 collaboration between
Steve Martin
and
the Steep Canyon Rangers
, so perhaps the wait between records wasn't all that long. Still, the clever title also suggests the difference between this 2017 affair and its predecessor:
Martin
is no longer hesitant to crack a joke as he stands behind a banjo. After playing it relatively straight on 2009's
The Crow
-- the album where he revived his longstanding love of bluegrass -- a smile started to creep into his performances on
, but on
he seems unable to resist any quip that fluttered across his mind. Perhaps this is a reaction to the pair of subdued records
cut with
Edie Brickell
in the mid-2010s, but
seems ready to cut loose with jokes and fingerpicking.
The Steep Canyon Rangers
are ideal foils for him in that regard, as they're fleet-fingered and versatile, and they boast a fine deadpan singer in
Woody Platt
, who trades off tunes with
. The songs on
are littered with references to contemporary life -- references to cell phones, Olive Garden, and Skype calls are threaded into a mosaic of modern life -- and the music feels fresh too, alternating between lilting ballads, funny bits designed for a stage, and the quick-stepping instrumentals that act as the glue binding it all together.
specialize in good cheer, and while that means they can sometimes overplay their hand here -- "Strangest Christmas Yet" sticks out like a sore thumb, each punch line landing with a thud -- their act is ingratiating and so is
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine