Nitpickers - Nitpickers

It's a shame when you run across a great group only to discover they only released one disc and then broke up. Such is the case with the lovely self-titled "Nitpickers," a cheery little collection of genre-busting western bluegrass-style tunes guaranteed to keep the toes tapping and faces smiling.

I never had a chance to hear or see the Nitpickers while they were together, but I tracked down this disc because it was one of the groups Dave Insley belonged to before he went solo. He still plays local shows with fellow Nitpicker, Steve Borick, and the two are so awesome together live I figured it would be worth my time and a few bucks to get this disc. It was.

I make no secret of the fact that I'm pretty gone on Dave Insley's music to the point where I'm very nearly a drooling fan-girl, but on a strictly objective level, the Nitpickers managed to release here a truly fun little disc, filled with the obvious joie de vive each one of them has. The songs are pleasant, chipper as most bluegrass is, but with the western overtones that keep this disc firmly grounded in its western heritage (including a touch of accordion on a couple of tracks, provided by Mario Moreno). With some incredible picking on the part of Borick, as well as Jim Bolek and Insley himself, it's a real treat to listen to.

Sure, this isn't a big-label success, and yes, the Nitpickers have mostly all gone their separate ways. Still, for fans of good music it's more than worth a listen, if only to catch an earful of some of Insley's earlier work, and how he managed to somehow wed his mournful western honky-tonk style to Appalachian bluegrass. It's pretty awesome.