Seldom do band members rebound gracefully after their main musical effort falls apart, but Keith Goodwin (vocals/guitar) and Tim Arnold (drums/vocals), members of the once up-and-coming progressive rock band Days Away have managed to do just that, pulling a 180 with their sound to a great degree of success in their new acoustic folk project Good Old War. Rounding out the trio is Dan Schwartz (guitar/vocals) from the Americana tinged 6 piece band, Unlikely Cowboy.

Unlike the recent trend among indie rock artists who have visited the country/folk genre, Good Old War makes no attempt to assimilate its music for the sake of novelty. There’s no fake twang in Keith Goodwin’s soft vocals, nor does the band try to overindulge itself by adding sounds by the harmonica or mandolin just for the sake of having them. Instead, this trio from Pennsylvania retains the intimate storytelling nature of folk-song structure, playing music for those who desire an emotive, lyrical experience without having to wade through pretentious or unnecessary musical gimmicks to get it.

Only Way To Be Alone, Good Old War’s debut full length, was produced by Rick Parker (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Miranda Lee Richards) in Los Angeles in May 2008.