Back to the Mountains by The Po' Ramblin' Boys, released in 2016, announced the arrival of a Knoxville-based band with a fully formed commitment to the hard-driving, Carter Family-rooted Appalachian bluegrass tradition. Tracks like "I Believe in the Old Time Way" and "I Can't Go On This Way" are not aesthetic arguments so much as expressions of genuine immersion — the band plays and sings as though this music is simply what they do rather than a position they have chosen. Lead singer C.J. Lewandowski's voice has the lean, unadorned quality of mountain singing at its most direct, and the instrumental ensemble supports the vocals with the appropriate deference. Back to the Mountains established the Po' Ramblin' Boys as one of the most credible young traditional groups to emerge in years.
Tracklist
- 1 I Can’t Go On This Way Source Recording 2:03
- 2 Are You Homesick in Carolina 4:27
- 3 The Honky Tonk Downstairs 2:49
- 4 Messing With My Mind 2:13
- 5 The Girl I Denied 3:05
- 6 Back to the Mountains 2:32
- 7 Late Last Night alt version 2:21
- 8 Remember Where You Came From 3:55
- 9 I Believe in the Old Time Way Source Recording 2:35
- 10 Back Toward the Mountain 3:41
- 11 Drive Myself to Drinkin' 2:37
- 12 The Honky Tonk Downstairs (Country Version) 2:49