Sisterly bluegrass harmonies
Gold Heart is a trio of sisters whose bluegrass harmonies follow closely (and high and tightly, of course) in the tradition of country family singing. The Texas-born Analise plays mandolin, the Tucson-born Jocelyn plays guitar, and the Georgia-born Shelby plays fiddle. All three trade off singing lead and harmonies, and all three contribute original songs (nine of this dozen tunes are originals). Their father Trent tours with the group and plays bass, though the bottom end is held down on their third CD by Alan Bartram. Aaron McDaris and Andy Hall add banjo and dobro, respectively. Singing individually you can hear a fetching youth in each sister’s voice, but banded the three voices blend into an ageless whole. They’re particularly adept at shifting the harmony by having one or two singers change pitch while another sticks to a through line. Their songs are filled with joy, family, love, faith and optimism in hard times, leaving one to assume that more challenging adult experiences are still on the road ahead. There’s an a cappella original (“Heavenly Homeâ€) and fellow Rural Rhythm artist Brandon Rickman appears on “Never Be Through With Lovin’ You.†[©2009 hyperbolium dot com] 