The worst part of reviewing music is that a lot of stuff sounds the same. Album after album, you hear the same old thing and pray for something a little different. You can imagine my joy as the opening notes of "Yes, I've Been to Gove" filtered through my speakers. A soft waltz with a touch of backwoods dissonance, the track has enough moonshine and moonbeams to make it undeniably charming. This small-town, middle America feel lasts throughout the album. After a quick blast of cacophony, the band lurches into a demented polka that sounds straight out of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and by now I'm simply left giggling with pleasure.

Recorded live in Jim Connolly's living room, this album is full of delightful moments. Out-of-control clarinet (played by Jim Bement), laughing trumpet (provided by Jeff Kaiser) and zipping strings give the proceedings a decidedly circus-like feel, as if a bunch of well-trained chimps were playing in the center ring. This is not intended to mean that the playing sounds sloppy. "Tar Dance" is a delicate ballad played with plenty of precision, and "Pinocchio" is a well-executed piece for a bass trio. All of the players are skilled with their instruments, but they refuse to let their hands get in front of their hearts. Bruce Bigenho's piano hits all the right notes -- but more importantly, he can play with a wide-eyed sense of abandon. Similarly, Connolly's bass is there when it needs to be but is free to romp about when it's not called upon to hold down the fort. The strings of Gilles Apap, Sally Barr and Kirsten Monke combine to create the heart-wrenching theme to "Slocum Goes Slow" and skip about like uncoordinated kittens on the title track. Jim Bement's accordion provides both a solid chord foundation atop which the other musicians can go nutty, and a slight sway, which creates an alcoholic rather than an academic feel. The closing track, "1,000 MPH Train Wreck", starts with a noisy, free approach before solidifying into a soft, minor motif which fades into quietness.

This combination of down-home charm and undeniable skill reminds me of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. When you listen to the show, it sounds so fresh and innocent that you can fool yourself into believing it's all being made up on the spot by a group of amateurs. At the same time, however, things fit together so well that you can tell how much skill, effort and time it takes to make things this wonderful. This is a great piece of work, and even if the circus doesn't stop at Gove, I hope that Jim Connolly and the Gove County Philharmonic stop near me some time.