Blackstone Valley Sinners “It?s A Sin” [Valley Records]

BVS are the number one country trio in Rhode Island! Yep, you heard right buckaroo. This here’s some fine alternative country gospel rock from the colonial state known for its leading role in the American and Industrial Revolutions. No surprise BVS? namesake also recalls Anglican clergyman, William Blackstone; Rhode Island’s first white settler in 1635. This side project features some of the good folks from Slim Cessna’s Auto Club (Slim Cessna & Judithann) along with guitarist, Rich Gilbert and appropriately, It’s A Sin is intimately tied to Rhode Island’s historical background (Slater Mill, Cranston Sinner, Knightsville, Pawtucket Pickup) and theistic conscientiousness (It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie, Saturday Satan Sunday Saint). Musically this is a toe-tappin’, heel stompin’, feel-good country romp but lyrically it’s mighty harrowing. There’s nothing like lucid stories of moral dilemma and redemption expressed through Slim’s twanging melodic yodel and Gilbert’s jangling guitar pickin’. If the Louvin Brothers had wrangled up Hank William’s honky tonk and Roy Orbison’s harmonious warble on their gospel country classic Satan Is Real, the result would most certainly have been Blackstone Valley Sinners?, It’s A Sin! Perfect for hangin’ Out Behind the Barn! RECOMMENDED: # 3, 4, 5, 7, 10
INSTRUMENTAL: # 1, 8