Alison Krauss & Union Station's not so secret weapon has, of course, always been Krauss herself - even when, as is often the case on Paper Airplane (and several of the records that came immediately before it) the music that she's creating is more comfortingly familiar than particularly interesting, it sounds wonderful. On this record, most songs are led by guitar and bass, with dobro, lap steel, banjo and even fiddle much less prominent; it's symptomatic. Of course, Dan Tyminski - he of constant sorrow - can be relied upon to liven things up, and in fact, the three songs where he takes lead responsibilities are amongst the best on this tasteful but just somehow too subdued set.
