Pinmonkey

In most ways, Pinmonkey is a relatively traditional country band. There’s singer Michael Reynolds’ amazingly pure, astoundingly high, lonesome voice at the center, equally at home with the Carter Family’s “Lonesome Pine Special” and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ mournful “Two Days From Knowing” (not to mention his own slinky “Black Train”). Chad Jeffers’ tasty dobro, lap steel and twangcentric electric guitar satisfy listeners who don’t want their country all rocked up. Pinmonkey is full of tough-luck road stories, including the devastating bus fire that cut short its last tour (and its wardrobe). Yet even with all that, there’s something pop about the group’s sound, something reminiscent of the days when Glen Campbell’s version of “Wichita Lineman” was part of mainstream America. With its first disc, Speak No Evil, the group has developed a devoted following — and rest assured, none of its fans knows quite what to make of the name, either.