Eli Young Band: 10,000 Towns (Republic Nashville/Decca)

THE Eli Young Band comprise four musicians who met during their college days at the University of North Texas and are now 11 years into a career built on touring, without a change in their line-up. It is perhaps an omen that this new album contains their third number one US hit Drunk Last Night, which was released in Britain last week on St Patrick’s Day. In the US, that one single alone has been certified Gold with sales already more than 600,000 downloads.

Some may see them as “new kids on the block” in the UK, but the band has gone from strength to strength with brilliant musicianship and blended harmonies to the fore. This new release offers both, especially to those who have yet to appreciate their modern contemporary band styling with a mix of light and shade throughout carefully selected songs. The band’s previous release, Life At Best, is also worth a listen because it gave the outfit charttoppers such as the highly-acclaimed Even If It Breaks Your Heart –the Billboard number one Country Song of the Year (2011) and the Academy of Country Music’s Song Of The Year in 2012. On April 6, for the third consecutive year the Eli Young Band will vie for the Vocal Group Of The Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. I can see another accolade added to a band that makes one of the best country group sounds around.