Ain't The Same As Before
On Kort McCumber's website, he gives a breakdown of what makes Americana tick, explaining that it is equal parts folk, bluegrass, country, rock and roots music. Yep, that covers it.....mostly. What's missing from the description, and what Kort adds, is blue-eyed soul. His voice drips with it. From the two shot snare hit from opener “Shaking Off The Blues” right on through to closer “As The Sun Goes Down”, blue eyes or not, soul is in the house. The vocals ride over eleven tracks that dip into the Americana chest of sound with good effect. Title track “Ainʼt the Same As Before” rambles as bass, high hat and riffs move down the sonic court and the story tells what happens when time changes a small town. On “Welcome to Duluth”, Kort immediately lets you know how rare some love is with the line, “I carry a two dollar bill in my pocket to remind me of the love that you've shown me from the start”, while powerful acoustic country rhythms allow Kort to sing/talk a heartfelt tale of coming home with all of its emotion intact. Anger at the status quo and solid playing share a fire on our free download, "Pay the Fiddler". The love of song-crafting comes through on "Ain't the Same As Before", his latest release. Love of music seems to be a piece of Kort's DNA. He logged 50,000 miles in the last year alone, playing more than a thousand live shows in Europe and the United States in the last ten years. Kort is a classically trained pianist and cellist. Moving to Colorado in 2003 gave him a little more country and bluegrass to stick in his tunes. He comes full circle on "Ain't the Same As Before" making sure that each piece of the Americana heritage gets center stage. -- TheAlternateRoot.com