TUCSON WEEKLY, Aug. 2, 2007 [LINK]

Soundbites
By STEPHEN SEIGEL

[...] Matteoli will play just before fellow Austinites The Texas Sapphires, who are touring to support their debut album, Valley So Steep (2006, Stag), produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines (pedal-steel player extraordinaire and father to the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines). The group won Best New Band in the 2006 Austin Chronicle Readers' Poll, and after listening to Valley So Steep, that should come as no surprise.

Co-fronted by former hog farmer Billy Brent Malkus (vocals, guitar, dobro, and piano) and singer Rebecca Lucille Cannon, whose lovely harmonies anchor the proceedings, the quintet veers all over the history of country music. "The Emerald Outlaw" is a winning mandolin-and-pedal steel stop in Bakersfield; "Driftin' In" is an old-timey showcase for Cannon's lovely voice; the slightly sinister-sounding "Ladyfest, TX" is a stomping bluegrass romp; and the updated traditionalism of "Barstow Barstool" wouldn't sound out of place on a Dwight Yoakam album.