Search - Eastmountainsouth :: Eastmountainsouth

Michele D. (Crazy8) from GREENUP, IL
Reviewed on 11/24/2009...

I love this album. The musicality is very special, and it takes me to another place. I'm wishing they'd come out with a second album! If you like The Weepies, I think you will appreciate this.

Masters of the fine lost art of the vocal duet.

D. Mok | Los Angeles, CA | 12/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard this record weaving out of a record store PA system and was mesmerized. It's been a long time since I've heard a true contemporary vocal duet of equal partners. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings come close, but Welch is obviously the center in their partnership. Eastmountainsouth, on the other hand, practises close harmony and shared lead singing in the tradition of The Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, and my favourite vocal partnership, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. And they do it well, while writing great songs with organic arrangements that are spare but never undernourished.



Kat Maslich's is a classic folk voice, warm and resonant, and Peter Adams' counter melodies are always beautiful. They are like a reversal of the roles of Parsons/Harris, with Maslich taking a little more of the spotlight, but the emphasis being on dual leads. "Hard Times" is a great take on the folk standard, beautiful in its simplicity, never becoming repetitive like so many modern folk songs. The vibrant rhythms of "You Dance" shows that this duo can do folk-rock as well as anybody else; "So Are You to Me" shows Maslich stripping her voice bare with only a piano as accompaniment; the beautiful and haunting "The Ballad of Young Alban and Amandy" sounds a little like an old English ballad, the kind that Kate Rusby specializes in; and "Rain Come Down"'s tinkling piano and guitar weave a mystical soundscape that is sheer magic with Maslich and Adams' voices. The production, by Adams and Mitchell Froom, is a winner, showing none of the electronica tendencies and dressiness that had marred Froom's work with Suzanne Vega. Good judgment here to rely on organic instrumentation and a warm, analog-like sound that allows the voices and songs to breathe and come alive.



It's a joy to see a group that takes such care in its voices and composition that its work instantly comes across as timeless and lasting. Bravo."

Real music by real people

Danilo Dickerman | Saratoga, CA USA | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The album is extremely lyrical and beautiful, without ever resorting to the typical formulaic pop cliche's which can make so much other music unlistenable. The clips here are a good start, with more detail on their own website (eastmountainsouth.com) but miss-out on gems like "mark's song", which has moved me to tears more than once.I, too, saw them open for Tracy Chapman recently, and was quite impressed with their ability to convey such delicate, peaceful music in that environment -- down to the subtleties of the percussionist, who was using brushes, cloth mallets and his hands on the drum kit (never sticks) keeping rhythm without piercing the mood. On the stage when most of the crowd is just milling-in, waiting for the main act, they kept the audience rapt with attention.The music seems very personal and heart-felt, but at the same time they were very comfortable interacting with the crowd -- bringing you into their world and making you want to share in their stories. Definitely worth tracking them down while they're still playing small clubs (bars, bookstores, opening acts), lending an ear and humming along. Meanwhile, buy the album."