CD Odyssey Disc 899: The Staves

Damn it all if I didn’t catch a cold over the weekend. I never get sick but when I do I ignore the living hell out of it.

On that note, let’s talk about music! It’s been exactly 300 albums since I last reviewed this next band.

Disc 899 is….If I Was

Artist: The Staves

Year of Release: 2015

What’s up with the Cover? The Staves are from England but this cover looks very much like a Canadian winter. The three sisters that make up the band look suitably miserable as they trudge along the road (Canadian winters aren’t for everyone).

How I Came To Know It: I liked the Staves 2012 debut “Dead & Born & Grown” (reviewed back at Disc 599) so I decided to take a chance on their new album despite having only heard snippets of two of the songs..

How It Stacks Up:  I have two Staves albums, and I like them both but this one is the weaker of the two, so…second.

Ratings: 3 stars

It took the Stavely-Taylor sisters three years to release their sophomore album, and during that time their sound has evolved, bringing in much stronger undercurrents of contemporary pop and indie rock. I have no complaint with the changes, although overall the quality of the songwriting is stronger on their earlier record.

This band is all about the complex harmonies, and when there are solo moments they seem prettier because they jump out at you, sharp and clear like a sunny winter’s day after a snowstorm. Kind of like the cover but with more natural light.

The three sisters have an exceptional understanding of each other’s voices and know just how to come in a little high, or a little low, sometimes tight to one another, sometimes doing loose harmonies or even rounds of interlaced lyrics. It could easily become busy or affected but they manage to hold everything together with some great timing and careful structure.

The melodies of the songs are also innovative, again not going so far as to jar you out of the folksy reverie the women create, but far enough to catch your ear. However, despite the interesting way the songs progress, they aren’t catchy, and few tracks separate themselves out from the pack.

Similarly, the lyrics of the album are sweet enough and feel like they have the weight of real experience behind them. With this much vocal prowess I found myself wishing from time to time that the record was a bit stronger poetically. Maybe it suffered from following on the heels of a Leonard Cohen record, but it didn’t impact me deep in the heart the way music like this should.

Fortunately while the album doesn’t have a lot of standouts, it doesn’t have any duds either, and the whole thing is a pleasant and at times even whimsical listen.

“Let Me Down” is a pretty little track, driven by a lightly picked acoustic guitar and some nice dynamics in and out of the harmonies (did I mention this was their thing?). “Black & White” mixes that same light touch at the beginning with a more electric rock feel as it progresses, which works equally well.

I also liked “Teeth White” which is a song about getting all dressed up and hitting the town, but not really feeling it inside. The chorus triumphantly declares:

“I got my teeth white

And my jeans tight

I got my hair long

And it’s still wrong.”

I totally get it, ladies. Except the white teeth thing, that is. Not that I haven’t tried but damn it if the rum, coke and coffee always seems to hold the upper hand. But I digress…

Back to this record, where I found myself casting about looking for a song to not enjoy. Was “The Shining” too much like Suzanne Vega? No…it was just the right amount of Suzanne Vega. What about “Damn It All”? – at 6:26 it surely must be overly long. But no, it has a nice slow build that perfectly suits its odd combination of existential ennui and mild disappointment.

Yet I can’t give this very fine record four stars. I think it is because these girls just sing too damned perfectly. The record needs a little more hurt around the edges of those flawless harmonies to complete it. This is a minor quibble, though. “If I Was” is a solid folk record and I’ll be excited to see what the Staves do next as they continue to grow into their own voices.

Best tracks:  Blood I Bleed, Let Me Down, Black & White, Damn It All, Teeth White

CD Odyssey Disc 599: The Staves

I’m just back from a workout and feeling flush with endorphins. Despite all the little reasons I will give myself to skip going to the gym, I never regret it when I do go. It feels good to stay fit, even at the very average level I maintain.

Disc 599 is….Dead & Born & Grown

Artist: The Staves

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? I found this a very pleasant cover.  It is the colour you might paint your walls if you were selling your house – an inoffensive light tan – and the lettering is rustic but respectable.  All about the letters are simple little images that are fun to search out while you let the disc spin.

How I Came To Know It: Sheila often gets me a music magazine for Christmas and in 2012 she bought me one dedicated to indie and folk music. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was packed with reviews of all kinds of bands I’d never heard of. Over several months I sought out all the artists on Youtube that I thought I’d like. The Staves were one of only a few that stuck, and so I bought their album online when I realized I’d never find it in local stores.

How It Stacks Up:  This is the only full length LP by the Staves, and although they have a couple EPs preceding it, I don’t have those, so there is nothing to ‘stack up’ against.

Rating:  3 stars but almost 4.

When you first hear a band can be almost as important as the music itself. If I had encountered the Staves twenty years ago when I was wholly committed to folk music, they might’ve been one of my favourite bands. As it is, they are still pretty damned good, but these days I’m into so many different styles of music concurrently I can’t give them the full ear they deserve.

Of course, if I had known the Staves twenty years ago, they would probably have been toddlers, since they’ve only been on the music scene about three years and are still very young. As debut full-length albums go, “Dead & Born & Grown” is an impressive start that shows a lot of promise for the future.

The album is contemporary folk music, and has a lot in common with Canadian act the Wailin’ Jennys, in that it features three gifted vocalists who sing beautiful harmonies together. In the case of the Staves the three vocalists are sisters – Emily, Jessica and Camilla Stavely-Taylor.  Good call on not using your full surnames, ladies.

The musical structure reminded me strongly of Simon and Garfunkel throughout, particularly on “In the Long Run” which has uncanny similarities with the Simon and Garfunkel song “April, Come She Will” while avoiding being derivative.

The guitar playing is handled principally by Jessica Stavely-Taylor. The songs are not hard to play (I imagine) but to play them as free and easy as Jessica does is another matter. She keeps the mood relaxed and lets the blending of the three voices take centre stage over the free and easy style.

Sister Camilla fills in on a couple of tracks with the ukulele. I usually prefer a mandolin to a ukulele when given the choice but for this album, I have to admit the ukulele is the right vibe. It has a childlike-wonder quality to it that suits these songs, which are very wide-eyed and open-hearted.

In some ways I’d like the album to have a bit more edge to it. It took several listens to realize some of the songs (like “Tongue Behind My Teeth”) have anger in them, but the gentle rolling harmonies soften everything, kind of like a blanket of snow; cold but comforting at the same time. A little more edge would be welcome, but then again maybe it would crush the vibe.

Snow and wintry imagery feature prominently and they create an atmosphere of quiet contemplation like you get when you’re out for a long walk in the snow with no one else around. Even the title of the album implies winter comes first in the rotation (first comes death and only later birth and growth), and the songs tend to start with a starkness from which wisdom emerges.

That said, the lyrics on “Dead & Born & Grown” are still the work of a band finding its way. They do a better job of establishing a mood than painting a picture, and I found myself wishing they would do both. I’m greedy that way, and I think lyrics are a big part of the folk music experience – more important than in some other genres. I do love this little section from “Wisely and Slow”:

“Tender woman mourns a man

Sits in silent sorrow

With a bottle in her hand.”

It reminded me of these lines from Gordon Lightfoot’s “Circle of Steel”:

“Deck The Halls was the song they played

In the flat next door where they shout all day

She tips her gin bottle back till it's gone.”

Another sad winter song!

Less impressive is the F-bomb dropped uncomfortably into the middle of “Pay Us No Mind.” I won’t quote it, except to say it is the only curse on the record, and feels like a cheap – and ultimately unsuccessful – attempt to squeeze some rebellion out of a song.

Another minor gripe is that both the album title and a couple of tracks make gratuitous use of the ampersand. Please just spell out ‘and’ – it is a perfectly good word.

However these are minor trifles for an album that made me feel very at ease. This is a record that lets your mind relax without making it lazy. It reminds me that youth isn’t always in a hurry, but is every bit as capable at finding wisdom and grace as age, sometimes more so. It has me excited to see what these sisters are going to do for an encore.

Best tracks: Wisely & Slow, The Motherlode, In the Long Run, Winter Trees