V2 Records

From the Decker House

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 13:05:00 +0000

From the Decker House is a brief, pop-ish, countryside-style, storytelling album reminiscent of Bob Dylan ramblings, although not nearly as timeless. The band met in Idlewild, CA in 2004, but now records from the opposite end of the country in New York. This album takes its name from the apparently decrepit Decker House estate in the mountains behind Deposit, NY that the band adopted as a home base for the concoction of this album.

“Los Angeles,” the first song on the album, is a strutting intro that almost reminds one of a Beatles-style love tune with kicky, adoration-spewing lyrics about moving westward to catch sunshine. There is a sense of sharpness in the instrumentals that nearly overwhelms the softness of Erick Jordan’s raspy vocal curls. His achy whines transmit a feeling of searching that echoes redundantly throughout the nineteen-minute album and bounces against the organ that Mackenzie Vernacchio expertly chops into the leading guitar.

The Rosewood Thieves found a nice place in the mountain country of Deposit to collaborate on this album, and it sounds like good friends on a quiet vacation making music. Despite, through the endeavor to describe it accurately, having listened to the album sufficient times to get the lyrics caught in my mind, there is not quite enough lasting power to make From the Decker House a favorite in my own collection.

Written by: Djuna A. Davidson, March 18th 2007

Engine EP

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 03:24:00 +0000

By Langhorne Slim

V2 Records

Langhorne Slim’s songs are deceptively simple, but if you listen to the words, they are anything but. Each song describes the nuances and complexities of human relationships. He breaks us right into this theme with “English Tea,” where he describes loving the details of someone, but not necessarily wanting to be with her. The standout track of this little gem comes in track two, “Restless”: “I packed a picnic lacking seriously on food/I had more wine than I knew what with to do.” Besides clever turns like this, you will be hard-pressed to get the hook of this song out of your head for days.

This EP does a fantastic job of displaying Slim’s musical diversity and range in just four tracks. “Honey Pie” even shows Slim getting down with some rockabilly and proving he can wail just as well as he can be sweet and mellow. The closing track, “Sweet Olive Tree,” shows us yet another style, that of the Gothic Appalachian folk tale recounting a crime of passion. With a new full-length album in the works, Engine EP is a nice teaser and definitely gives listeners something to look forward to in the coming months.

Written by: Shana Scudder, March 16th 2007

Milk White Sheets

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:36:00 +0000

By Isobel Campbell

V2 Records

Milk White Sheets is good music for long mornings sitting in bed watching snow fall. First listening to this album in the evening after a day of work, I had a difficult time relating to the quiet hum that this album resonates. Even with the volume turned high, the unfamiliar lyrics were difficult to decipher while strains of cello, glockenspiel, dulcimer and guitar strings sounded haunting in the dark of the night. However, the next morning began with Milk White Sheets and the dreamy sounds of Isobel’s crystalline voice merged with the diverse span of instruments to surround the day with a quiet microcosm of comfort.

When mixed under the deft hand of Campbell, the resultant soundings on this album are melodious and gentle; they remind me of a cross between nursery rhymes, Gaelic or Celtic traditionals, and pirate shanties sung at bedtime. Primarily, the album contains original compositions with approximately six traditional songs re-arranged by Campbell and two songs written by friends. There is a charming 48-second hidden track called “Bird in the Wood” where listeners are given a chiming bell echo that seems to sing the delicacy of life in its simplicity.

This is considered Campbell’s second solo release although it was, in fact, recorded prior to her collaboration album with Mark Lanegan, Ballad of the Broken Seas. Folks who enjoyed the sweeping emotion of that recording will likely find pleasure in the gorgeous melodies of this extraordinary new release, Milk White Sheets. There is surely a place for Isobel Campbell in the heads of listeners who enjoy the likes of Nick Cave, Cat Power or Devendra Banhart. And anyone who is looking for some introspective morning musings would be pleased to start their day with this beautifully haunting folk album.

Written by: Djuna A. Davidson, March 7th 2007