Scanlon�s voice authentically delivers the songs of her country and heritage with an intimate kitchen party sense but an enchanting loneliness. Unlike some Irish singers of late that achieve the latter by whispered, breathy vocals, Scanlon makes you feel as if she�s out alone by a forgotten cottage, and yet, she still punctuates her delivery to hit the rhythm delivered by that fine band. Compass Records has labeled Hush: �File under Celtic/Irish,� but as you listen to Scanlon and Scott take their parts on the conversation of �The Demon Lover,� you can hear both the hills of Ireland and Appalachia . What we now have in Americana originally came over and across the sea, so it�s hard to know whether Scanlon met Tompson, Malone, and Scott in a pub or if Tompson, Malone, and Scott found Scanlon singing on the front porch of a house in some Kentucky holler. Exemplifying this connection, Scanlon gives a tender swing to �Rain and Snow,� a song noted to have appeared in Sharp and Karpeles� English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, #11. Duncan �s fiddle sounds like a dance at the end of the night�still having that sway but everyone�s grown pretty tired, which works well with the song�s theme of a man and woman who grow tired of one another, their dance coming to an end. You�ve Seen These Guys Before After telling you that I like Scanlon�s album partly due to the contribution of Tompson and Malone, you may be able to guess why I like Johnsmith�s Break Me Open. Tompson, Malone, and yes, Scott, lend tremendous support to Johnsmith�s tender-but-forceful folk. �Back to the Mystery� comes out of that same place that captures the imagination of Peter Mayer�staring into the unknowns of the sky, hearing that hymnic folk melody. The country blues of �Pothole Season� resonates with any Midwestern driver�an extended metaphor for looking for hope beyond the edges of the bumps. �Messy Thing� is a bluesy folk stomp through the difficulty of love with a rejuvenating spirit in Suzi Ragsdale�s call-and-response Gospel harmony vocal. The Appalachian blues of �Silver Creek� shows Johnsmith�s storytelling ability�and an appropriate song to use in my own Manitowoc County , Wisconsin , since our Silver Creek is under constant threat of pollution from farm run off. Johnsmith reminisces about his Silver Creek�s place in his memories, running through life with a giving spirit. Besides Scott, Tompson, and Malone, Pauline Scanlon�s fiddler Stuart Duncan lends a hand on Johnsmith�s album as well. He delivers a funereal �Amazing Grace� introduction and motif to �Cold Cold Ground.� The song was written in memory of his brother, Davey. While the spiritual answers in this song don�t necessarily resonate with Gospel hope, the song puts to tight harmonies the oft-unspoken anger at the seemingly pointlessness of death. Break Me Open also includes a cover of Darrell Scott�s �Love�s Not Through Me��a song that finds Johnsmith in his most tender folk voice. Johnsmith covers LJ Booth�s �Box Elder� with that same tender flair�a heart-breaking tune combining images of a box elder invasion and the crucifixion of Christ. While covers of Scott and Booth are ample tributes, the cover song is most revealing tribute. �Lightnin� Hopkins tapped his foot,� and Johnsmith lets his foot tap in that same way, a blues prayer, a blues stomp on the edge of town, a singer/songwriter who can name the time of his conversion: seeing Hopkins�if only in the mind�s eye.