The Mickeys, Finding Our Way (Riverbeat Music, 2003)
"Americana" acoustic country folk music always sounds refreshing, but strangely the same to me. It's always easily identifiable from the minute you drop the CD in the player. I had never heard The Mickeys sing before this CD arrived in my letterbox. To be fair, I have heard their name bandied about somewhere, but any artist has to win his/her spurs with me before I make any judgment. Well, have the Mickeys won their spurs? Yes, you'd better believe it! This album is blisteringly good; the spur marks are all down my back to prove it.
The Mickeys are 29-year-old twin sisters Amy and Julie, originally from the Great Lakes on Northern Michigan, but now living in Nashville, Tennessee. It is immediately evident that these two young ladies are sisters, because they harmonise as only siblings can do. They are absolutely magic, reminding me of the Everley Brothers back in the '60s.
The tracks are acoustic based, with percussion at exactly the right level on the softer songs, but as steady as a rock when needed. I don't know who the drummer is, because the backing musicians are not credited on the album sleeve notes, but all of them should take an extra bow, because they do a superfine job here.
The vocals are obviously The Mickeys' strong point, but it's the construction of these eleven songs (five of which are written by the sisters), all of which flirt with roots, acoustic country and bluegrass, that makes the album so good. It is hard to pick a favourite song. I understand two of the tracks were released as singles -- "Smoke & Mirrors" and "Old Kentucky Wind," the latter of which made No. 1 on the European EMS Independent Top 30 Chart. But my personal favourite is "Before You're Home," which has a short but haunting riff on fiddle, before the guitar and fiddle share the superb instrumental break. "My Way Again" follows, and again the instrumental breaks make the song. Both of these songs are co-written by Amy and Julie with Tom Rogers.
It is clear in my mind we will be hearing a lot more from The Mickeys as they find their way, if only because they are both clever girls and have Bachelor's degrees in Business Administration with Music Business minors, obtained at Belmont University. They formed their own record label (Riverbeat Music) and are masters at promotion.
But even with all this, you still need to be able to sing.
Make no mistake about it: these ladies have a singing talent with a capital "T." This album is a masterpiece.
A Web site for The Mickeys can be found here.
