The Canuck guitarist's eighth album is a purely instrumental foray. Though it's not that simple. For the Juno award-winner employs a string quartet on several tracks, not merely as a setting but as an integral part of each composition, providing an intriguing sound that enhances Dawson's Kottke-Fahey informed approach to his music. Recorded with up to a dozen microphones positioned to document every nuance of the proceedings, Lucky Hand, with its creative Jesse Zubot arrangements, is an absolute joy, one further enhanced by interplay with mandolinist John Reischman and a Bentonia Blues on which Dawson duels with Nashville harmonica hero Charlie McCoy.