"This could be my favorite new album in 2003 ... Americana-infused twangy pop all recorded live with immaculate sound. Takes a bit of Everly Brothers harmony, some Rubber Soul era songwriting and permeates it with twangy c&w/bluegrass guitar. It's really brilliant." - Jim Huie, Paisley Pop Records.
"One of the best albums released this year by a local band." - Philip Van Vleck, The Durham Herald-Sun.
"Janet Place's voice, reminiscent of a huskier Patsy Cline ... drips with country hard luck and hard-won wisdom. The 5 Place songs are mostly twang-pop compositions with a strongly Western influence ... 8 others are hard-hitting country love songs and travelogues by Jeff Hart." - Silas House, No Depression
"Brown Mountain Lights are straight down the line alt country." - Americana UK.
"This CD brought back many fond memories for me. They reminded me of songs I heard growing up. They seemed to have been influenced heavily by the early 70's singer songwriters such as Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and, dare I say, James Taylor. I also noticed a hint of the Burrito Brothers here as well, most notably in the steel guitar sound. Janet Place and Jeff Hart share the songwriting and lead vocals. The rest of the band's musicianship is flawless, especially Greg Bower. As a guitarist myself I was bowled over by his lead parts." - Keith Robb, Freighttrain Boogie
" This is dead good pickin’ & singin’ that compares favorably with the Asylum Street Spankers and dipping further back, Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks. Yummy like home cooking, not too fancy, yet a reminder of how satisfying meat-and-taters electrified front porch music can be." - Dennis Cook - San Francisco - pauserecord.com
"I envy the people in the crowd who were there during the recording of your cd! What a brilliant cd. Overwhelming. My God, if this is only a debut, what can we expect of BML in the future?" Berrie Koetsier - Radio IJsselmond - Kampen, The Netherlands.
"A rootsy charmer that serves as a showcase for Place, Hart and Bower's extensive resumes and boundless affection for music ... The originals come from the overflowing notetbooks of Hart and Place, with the former's ruggedly handsome "Rose of Sharon" and the latter's "Little Things" two obvious highlights, while the authors' list for the cover songs ranges from Lester Flatt and Gram Parsons to Peter Holsapple and the well-kept secret Gwil Owen." - Rick Cornell - The Record Exchange Music Monitor.
"Rich harmonies, back porch-styled strumming and picking, all tempered with their deep sensibility of the common ground between old time music, straight country and melodic pop, with a big penchant for "Sweetheart of the Rodeo"-era Byrds." - Chris Toenes - The Independent Weekly.
"I'm pretty sure Hart has a "What Would Paul Westerburg Do?" bumper sticker on his guitar case. Their sound leans toward folk-and-country-ward, mixing a bunch of first-rate originals by Hart and Place with smart covers such as the Peter Holsapple-penned "Nothing is Wrong." They're pretty darn lovable in their own right." - Lather Weekly.
"The bald guy rocks!" - overheard at Sadlacks in Raleigh.
"The Brown Mountain Lights showcase their assets on their feel-good debut, wisely choosing to highlight their energetic performance and song craft on this live, 19-track effort. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Janet Place brings a honky tonk kick to her Patsy Cline-esque lead vocals ... As luminous as the ghostly North Carolina phenomenon that inspired their name, the Brown Mountain Lights make a memorable first impression." - Miles of Music.
"An unexpected triumph for the group, who recorded two shows live at the Cave in Chapel Hill, hoping for enough good tracks to be able to scrape together an EP ... The resulting cd sounds like a celebration of rootsy, twangy music and beautifully blended vocals." - Jennifer Layton, The Cary News.
