Sunday, February 19, 2012

Personal inspiration: wanna get back to "Idaho"

 

Thanks to NOISETRADE, I got 25 great “love songs” for Valentine’s Day last week.

One of my favorites in the collection is “Idaho” by Brooklyn-based songwriter Peter Bradley Adams and Vermont-native songstress Caitlin Canty.

In a world where the moniker “indie folk pop” seems to vaguely describe every other aspiring musical act in the underground music scene, it can seem nearly hopeless to search for an artist whose genuine acoustic folk stylings resonate with both sincerity and bare aural beauty.

Enter Down Like Silver, the duo’s self-titled debut, a six-song EP that seamlessly marries the pair’s melodically minimalistic stylings, bringing out the best in both performers.

Here’s what a reviewer at THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN wrote about the album:

Every phrasing and refrain is filled to the brim with the raw, naked emotion of two dedicated songwriters pouring their heart into their music. Good folk music tells the story – great folk music brings the listener on the journey. This album paints the musical landscape with broad, sublime strokes.

Perhaps the most ear-pleasing aspect of this album is that it is nearly entirely “co-sung” – that is, as opposed to duets, the songs are mainly sung by both Adams and Canty simultaneously throughout. It is one thing to combine two vocalists with different styles and ranges into a cohesive package – it’s entirely another to meld the two voices together in song as if they’re one doubly emotive instrument. At times, Canty’s and Adams’ voices sound less like two vocalists singing their own vocal lines, and more like a pianist voicing two parts together.

As a result, the vocals on this album are both harmonically rich and incredibly expressive, accenting the wise-beyond-their-years songwriting abilities of both musicians.

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