West Bank Gone

Editors’ Notes Minneapolis native Darryl Holter has one of the most thrillingly genuine country music voices around. Just a few bars into “Two For Each Other” and a serious country music fan’s wish has been granted. The pedal steel from Greg Leisz is deep and dramatic. The guitars are sharp and definite. The keyboard, from Tom and the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench, is tastefully applied. The title track takes a honky-tonk quickstep onto the dance-floor. Son Volt’s “Back Into Your World” is brought back to its roots. Bob Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” salutes the great Minnesotan legend who got his start in the Minneapolis West Bank district to which this album pays tribute. The Byrds’ “One Hundred Years From Now” is crisp and knowing. “The Mixers” is slow and touching. “5 am” is a barroom romp that only lacks the clinking of glasses. “Birthday In Beertown” is your prototypical tear-in-my-beer country ballad. Holter’s moved on to Los Angeles and the Minneapolis folk scene of his youth is long gone. But he makes those memories stick with strong, authentic country music of his own.