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"Gypsum Strings" is Oakley Hall's second full-length record of 2006, and while the first, "Second Guessing", established Oakley Hall as one of the premier roots rock bands in the land, "Gypsum Strings" turns the volume way up and the traditions on their heads. Guitarists Fred Wallace and Pat Sullivan, and amplified fiddler Claudia Mogel trade leads with abandon on "Confidence Man" and "Lazy Susan". Cutting through the dense arrangements are powerhouse harmonies. Rachel Cox emerges as the Blue Ridge amalgam of Sandy Denny and Linda Ronstadt while Pat Sullivan's gravelly baritone anchors it all in Johnny Cash and John Doe territory. The sextet's trademark killer songwriting chops are in evidence as "Gypsum Strings" boasts some beautiful ballads that temper the heaviness, like "Living In Sin In The USA", "Nite Lights, Dark Days" and "Bury Your Burden". All told, "Gypsum Strings" cements Oakley Hall's rep as luminaries of the new psych-roots movement. They look to the past to make modern music striking in its originality.