Ann Powers, for NPR Music, includes Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line in a small group of musicians, spanning several genres, who she identifies as successfully borrowing sound to create something original. Here’s what she writes about NJS & TPL:
Nora Jane Struthers makes bluegrass music that reminds us of how contemporary that strain of country music was when it emerged in the mid-twentieth century. The Nashville-based Struthers and her band, The Party Line, display an easy camaraderie that leaves room for virtuoso turns without ever letting their songs be consumed by showoff picking. What really makes Struthers special, however, is her songwriting. On her third album , released in March, Struthers — who grew up in New Jersey and has a from NYU — employs the high lonesome bluegrass sound to tell stories of adventure with a subtle feminist twist. Along with Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan and Abigail Washburn, Struthers is an upstart spiritual daughter of Alison Krauss, creating a space within the competitive fraternity of bluegrass for women’s stories and women’s virtuosity.