Nickel Creek: "When in Rome"

Today marks the release of the new Nickel Creek single "When in Rome." Rome's a fair bit darker but just as enthralling as the band's trademark foot-stomping bluegrass jams and heartstring-pulling ballads.

Chris Thiles, armed with his trusty mandolin, starts off the festivities with the ostinato. Joined by Sara's plaintive fiddle and brother Sean's guitar, the song insistently moves forward. Reminiscent of a Native American war chant with a little bitta fiddle, Nickel Creek ventures further afield - moving the boundaries of traditional bluegrass and moving in new, exciting directions.

Check out a good selection of NC videos here on launch, incuding "When in Rome." "When You Come Back Down" always chokes up this old cowboy and "Reasons Why" puts Sara's angelic singing voice center stage. "The Lighthouse Tale," featuring some adventurous vocal arrangements from producer Alison Krauss, is the band's tender, tragic, and touching calling card.

In other news, I would also be remiss if I didn't mention Brad Paisley's Mud on the Tires and Sara Evans' (who I met, by the way. I have a picture.) "A Real Fine Place to Start" as my current favorite country bangers.

Also, Alan Jackson jumps back in the fray with the "Talkin' Song Repair Blues." And it's nice to see the video's star Anthony Clark getting some work.

And finally - a guy by the name of Cowboy Troy (you've seen him kicking around with Big & Rich) is looking to blend hip-hop and country with his debut album. We'll see how that goes.

But in closing, to my readers in Seattle and Boston - take the opportunity and go see the Creek live. They do a rendition of "The Fox" that will literally bend your bones. July 21-22 in Beantown and August 1 in Seattle. Wicky Wa?