Stumbled over these guys (well, girl & guy) while trying to chase down a free download of something else we've already reviewed here. This Portland, Ore. duo includes one member who has played with Sea Wolf and M. Ward, and they "recorded it on an 8-year-old computer with a 10-year-old recording interface in a small apartment." This 2010 collection does have that endearing lo-fi pop thing going on, but this is a little more accomplished-sounding than you might guess from that self-effacing description. It's a short album, just nine songs, but it feels like it could be unfolding in your living room right next to the tree. They go off to "Grandma's House," play "Trivial Pursuit" to a swingy piano and clavinet, celebrate a "Coyote Christmas" in the wild old west, they miss each other when one goes "Home For the Holidays" and the other leaves, they crank up the disco ball for "Under Mistletoe" and lay down a moody David Lynch vibe on the instrumental "Ice Cycle." Their sincerity shows through best on "Fruitcake" because they sing about sharing one, not on regifting it to some unlucky sucker. The ballad "Old Soles" emphasizes the longing for home during the holiday season. And "Auld Lang Syne," the only non-original, is brief, but after several minutes of silence it quickly reprises. This is that "secret song" thing that works on CDs, not so much on downloads. Those who like old Lee Hazlewood records or recent Belle & Sebastian will like this best. Check out "Under Mistletoe" here via Vimeo.
Christmas Volume 1, Duover (self-issued)
Stumbled over these guys (well, girl & guy) while trying to chase down a free download of something else we've already reviewed here. This Portland, Ore. duo includes one member who has played with Sea Wolf and M. Ward, and they "recorded it on an 8-year-old computer with a 10-year-old recording interface in a small apartment." This 2010 collection does have that endearing lo-fi pop thing going on, but this is a little more accomplished-sounding than you might guess from that self-effacing description. It's a short album, just nine songs, but it feels like it could be unfolding in your living room right next to the tree. They go off to "Grandma's House," play "Trivial Pursuit" to a swingy piano and clavinet, celebrate a "Coyote Christmas" in the wild old west, they miss each other when one goes "Home For the Holidays" and the other leaves, they crank up the disco ball for "Under Mistletoe" and lay down a moody David Lynch vibe on the instrumental "Ice Cycle." Their sincerity shows through best on "Fruitcake" because they sing about sharing one, not on regifting it to some unlucky sucker. The ballad "Old Soles" emphasizes the longing for home during the holiday season. And "Auld Lang Syne," the only non-original, is brief, but after several minutes of silence it quickly reprises. This is that "secret song" thing that works on CDs, not so much on downloads. Those who like old Lee Hazlewood records or recent Belle & Sebastian will like this best. Check out "Under Mistletoe" here via Vimeo.
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