CD Odyssey Disc 1288: The Honey Dewdrops

I’m enjoying a relatively quiet week so far, filled with reading, television and music. I’ll spare you the first two but since you’ve come all this way, here’s a few words about what I’ve been listening to.

Disc 1288 is… Silver Lining

Artist: The Honey Dewdrops

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish hang out with their instruments on the porch of their house. At least I hope it is their porch. Otherwise, someone is likely to come the door and ask, “can I help you?” and if they didn’t move along, call the police. Or maybe invite them in for a jam session. I would invite them in.

How I Came to Know It: The boring way - I read a review of one of their albums and checked out their back catalogue. That back catalogue was hard to locate, but I was eventually able to listen in through their Bandcamp site. Once I did I realized I had to have at least three of their records.

How It Stacks Up:  As noted, I’m on the lookout for two other Honey Dewdrops albums but for now “Silver Lining” is the only one in my collection. Consequently, it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Silver Lining” is everything a bluegrass record should be: simple, heartfelt and played with equal parts precision and passion.

The Honey Dewdrops are couple Kagey Parrish (vocals, guitar) and Laura Wortman (vocals, banjo and guitar). They reminded me favourably of Mandolin Orange, and while that band is more famous, the Honey Dewdrops are just as gifted at their craft.

Wortman has a light touch on the banjo that makes the instrument trill away. Parrish’s guitar matches well with it, whether he’s going with a light boom-chucking strum or some exquisite fingerpicking. They write songs that have a gentle roll that matches their styles perfectly and even when they are singing about mournful topics there is a peace in their playing.

It reminded me of times in my youth when I could just sit by a stream in the middle of the woods and never run into a single person all afternoon. In the city those moments are hard to come by, but “Silver Lining” recalled that same restful feeling, setting my mind at ease as I fell into the music.

This was particularly notable on “Catawba” a short (2:23) little instrumental which just has the two of them twining guitar and banjo licks together in a perfect call and answer. The song is neither fast nor furious, but it is played with such sweetness and élan that it fills you with energy. This isn’t the nervous energy of a coffee high either, it is the even-tempered alertness after waking up from a quality nap.

Vocally, Wortman has a pure and traditional tone that fills every note. Parrish’s vocals are high and wispy and while they don’t have his partner’s power, they serve as a perfect complement to her sound. Together, they make some pretty harmonies when they set their mind to it.

The duo write beautiful songs in a timeless style. “Let Me Sing” is a prayer to the gods of artistic expression – a celebration of freedom of spirit. Free to write, free to love, and free to sing about it. It sounds obvious, but it never feels hokey or hackneyed because it comes from such a pure and honest place.

“Hills of My Home” is a song that bemoans the impact of coal mining on natural beauty, and “It’s Hard to Pray” is a song of shaken faith in the face of injustice and bad luck. Despite this, there’s a strong line of resolution through both tracks that leave you feeling like all things can be endured. Like the album’s title, the record’s focus is always on the beauty at the edges of tragedy, all the more illuminated by the darkness within.

As I walked the last few feet home from work today I realized I was slowing down. It’s crow nesting season in my neighbourhood and we’ve got a particularly cranky couple near our house, so only the most foolhardy slow down. I did it anyway, if only to squeeze a few more minutes out of this soul-inspiring record before the Odyssey whisks me away to whatever lies next on my journey.

Whatever that ends up being, I know I’ll be back to revisit “Silver Lining” soon and often.

Best tracks: One Kind Word, Hills of My Home, Let Me Sing, Catawba, Silver Lining, Happiness, It’s Hard to Pray