The Lied To’s sophomore album The Lesser Of Two Evils offers more gritty musicianship and more of a forward stomp than their 2015 debut disc. Still solid with their singer-songwriter material, this duo of Doug Kwartler and Susan Levine still blend their voices like a charm amidst their new flurry of flinty instrumentation. Listeners will likely be in love this duo by the end of this very engaging, likable disc. Reviewers might find it challenging, though, to review this album as each repeated listening offers more nuggets to comment on.
Opening track “Cruel World” makes you feel the locomotive chug of this duo’s edgy side. Its two step shuffle beat gives plenty of drive as brittle guitar lines ring out with purity and charm beneath dual lead vocals. Kwartler’s crisp croon and Levine’s sweet timbre form into its own kind of cool as they tackle their lyrical twists and turns through life.
“Millionaire” finds Levine singing in her most endearing girlish chirp. She milks the emotive quality of this nostalgic look back at childhood amidst a garden of pretty pedal steel and of brisk acoustic guitar strumming. The rustic feeling those instruments create around her cocoon her vocal in something that appreciates it while keep her voice in a lofty place.
Title track “The Lesser Of Two Evils” benefits from Kwartler’s handsome croon, Levine’s silky, twangy support and a nimble lead guitar that help paints picture with its simmering, slippery phrase. Kwartler’s philosophical approach works well in this song of accepting what befalls us in a life of limited choices.
Levine’s tune “Buffalo” lets her beautiful vocal sway to a lilting melody. We can feel the subtle motion of this song because she emotes so much as she travels along her lyrical path. Wrapped up in pretty pedal steel melody, warm keyboards, and many other shiny instruments, Levine’s voice is, again, a brilliant focal point. Her talent and her projection of warmth and nostalgia keep this one real.
“One String” has a lot of The Lied To’s endearing qualities. Their chirpy harmony vocals, a fiddle line twisting in the wind, flinty acoustic instruments, and a bulbous percussion keep this wagon train caravan of sound traveling far with a mighty purpose.
Coming in strong with a swift acoustic guitar strum, Levine sings “Wishing” with her silky, country girl twang, adeptly moving her voice over a tuft of rustic flavored acoustic instruments. The result is a flavorful dandy of a song that she milks for all the charm it’s worth. Listeners will love the pace as well as how Levine wraps her tender, vulnerable voice around it.
“What Keeps Us In This World” amicably ambles in with a purty pedal steel line then gets a little push from a gritty, earthy banjo. Its rustic flavoring is gorgeous and the duo serve up a crisp, lilting vocal line that pleases the ear while soothing the soul. This tune should go straight to Americana roots radio. Its catchy, union vocals and bouncy, country melodic pace make this one as likable as a warm, sunny day.
A pretty piano ballad laced with mellow electric guitar lines, “Lay Down” lets Levine showcase the whispery beauty of her voice. Sparse, elegant, and earthy, this one grows into a an emotive force of nature as Levine makes a powerful impression on the listener with her soft calling on the heart.
“Windtalker” enters the scene with a perfectly toned drone. Once they have our attention, the duo pick up their acoustic guitars and weave another engaging, inviting texture. Their unison vocal sustains add even more juicy pluck to this country flavored piece.
“Diamond Road” lets Levine’s incredibly serene voice breathe with only the sparse accompaniment of a few instruments. Her voice rides the soft underpinning of acoustic guitar and organ sprawl like a magic carpet, balancing every air current to her own advantage.
The duo close out with an earthy interpretation of Woody Guthrie song “Deportee.” The pair capture Guthrie’s plaintive cry to bring attention to people who lost their chance to make a new life in our land of opportunity. The lyrical descriptions by Guthrie were always effective in conjuring up a very human scenario to make his listeners understand the despair of others. The Lied To’s rendition here carry the message well, keeping things simple so the listener can see the people they are singing about and to imagine the situations they are in.
The Lied To’s have outdone themselves with this sophomore album. The Lesser Of Two Evils is loaded with gritty, flinty instrumentation, impeccably raw, emotive vocals, and plenty of drums and percussion push. Recorded by Dough Kwartler at his Hollow Body Studios in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, he captured a good amount of perk in each voice and in each instrument. The songs here are wholly realistic reflections on life and the kind of people we meet on our journey through it. Rendered into three dimensional life by two of New England’s most talented singer-songwriters, with quality sound, and the listener receives their recipe for an outstanding album.
