Won honorable mention in the Telluride Troubadour Contest this year!
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[5.14]
Jer Fairall: A dusty after-hours barroom lament in the mode of Cowboy Junkies or, less popularly but somewhat more accurately, Over The Rhine, leaning as much in the direction of a timeless lullaby as it does straight-up country balladry. There’s an admirable lack of flash here, in how the band comes on caring more about simple craft than forcing authenticity, and the result is as lovely as it is understated.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Hard to imagine this as a radio tune; it’s quite placid — almost Ortonian. In the sense that although nearly anything could be sung in this manner and yet DF choose the meet-cute, it’s nothing remarkable. In the sense that Charlotte Formichella has conjured a folkie chill-out track with frissons of Frisell, it’s something I’d want close during the golden hour.
[8]
Katherine St Asaph: This could have been written and sung to prove the indie-as-adult-contemporary argument, which is valid and wrongly maligned but not necessarily an insult. From Driftwood Fire’s credentials, they’re absolutely talented and make decent if unadventurous music. I’m just not a good or pleasant enough person to be its ideal listener.
[5]
Iain Mew: The tune is almost entirely constructed from bits of “Norwegian Wood” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, and any enjoyment depends on being able to put up with those bits. It’s worth it though! When everything drops away for the aching “kiss me real slow… and just let it all go,” amidst a stillness barely punctured by gorgeous pinpricks of piano and guitar, it’s a special moment entirely of their own.
[8]
Jonathan Bradley: There’s real charm in the dusky and spare arrangement — it could work as a welcome counterpart to the Mazzy Star comeback — but that cock rock melody is too unrelenting for me to even slightly enjoy this.
[2]
Anthony Easton: I own records from Olivia, I really like the Indigo Girls’ new album, Dar Williams calms me, and I try hard not to dismiss women’s voices, and this might be horribly misogynist of me — but this does seem to be an excerpt from the feminist bookstore sketch on Portlandia.
[2]
Jonathan Bogart: Maybe it’s because I’ve been spending some time immersed in earnest ladyfolk recently, but I was hoping for something — anything, really — more than a lullabyish love song. What’s the advantage of being kissed real slow? Helps you fall asleep easier?
[4]