Barton Hollow, the debut album from Nashville's The Civil Wars, was the recent recipient of a couple of Grammy awards and it's easy to understand why. The album is a thick slice of Americana, full of understated rootsy ballads the sort of which are easily noticed come awards season - just ask Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. The problem, however, with this record is that it does very little to distinguish its music from any number of releases from their peers, ranging from The Low Anthem to The Swell Season, or indeed from itself.

Of course, that's just the curmudgeon is me talking. A listen through the album reveals some lovely, earthy musicianship as the duo - Joy Williams and John Paul White - trundle through folk-pop and country-tinged numbers with impressive ease. Their vocals standout on the mix too and are a real focus of the record as the spectral acoustic guitar ambles its way through the 12 track collection.

A love for, or at least recognition of, slow-tempo'd ballads are a crucial signifier of whether or not Barton Hollow will do anything for you at all. The album is at its finest when the music rouses itself from the largely languid pace and White and Williams' vocals soar above the mix, as it does on the title track. Unfortunately, moments of any real purpose and intent and few and far between on Barton Hollow, which is a shame when you consider just how talented the pair of them are.