Album Notes

Jacob Latham—vocals, mandolin, mandocello, harp, match lighting (track 4), and bowing the bass (track 4)
Bethany Latham—vocals, bass guitar, upright bass, and guitar (track 6)
Michael Latham—vocals, guitar

Blue Cut is a father/son/daughter trio, a family band that simultaneously hearkens the Palace Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, and the Osmonds, and their music will make you wish there were more family bands in the world. But then there would need to be more fifteen-year-old kids like Blue Cut’s Jacob Latham, whose facebook profile reads: “I play 5 hours of music a day, consisting of…mandolin, guitar, bass, banjo…harmonica, violin and singing.”

This is not a typical kid, not your typical family, and there is nothing typical about their band and this fantastic debut album.

Recorded mostly in the Latham’s home studio in Bloomington, Indiana, We Walk In Temperatures includes strong original songs by father (Michael Latham), son (Jacob Latham), and daughter (Bethany Latham, 17), alongside traditional ballads and one contemporary cover (a gorgeous take on Jennifer Sherrill’s “Blue Willow Plates”). It’s an eclectic mix, but the album’s thirteen tracks cohere and inform each other: Bethany’s composition, the plaintive “Brother John” sounds classic and traditional (and her sweet, soaring voice will make you cry), while the group’s wailing “Little Sadie” brings this old murder ballad stomping right into the 21st Century.

We Walk in Temperatures features stunning musicianship and tasteful arrangements, and it distinguishes itself with some unforgettable hooks. The melody to “Harmless Dove” is as infectious as the catchiest John Prine song, and it’s the same with “Me Too You,” a song that highlights brother/sister harmonies so beautiful you will wish, again, that there were more family bands in the world.