Crowes Pasture create much more than a pleasant soundscape on their latest album Don’t Blink. Lyrically, it’s concerned with how much we miss if we take our eyes off the world for a moment. The duo’s usual blend of male and female vocals, banjo, and acoustic guitar allow them to develop folksy fabrics of Americana roots music, laced with their own personal touches of gentle sincerity. From that blueprint they stretch out lyrically to cover a lot of ground in the human experience. They also develop natural acoustic soundscapes to carry their voices and words with high authenticity.
Title track “Don’t Blink” is especially concerned with the quick passages of life. Andy Rogovin’s pleasant rasp and Monique Byrne’s girlish timbre dovetail around each other well, combing into a tuft of light, breezy joy. Perky notes from guitar and banjo kick things along while a backdrop of Andy Reiner’s fiddle shadows them well, creating a second layer of feeling. The instruments and voices create an oasis just as life creates ephemeral moments of joy.
An arrangement of Bruce Springsteen’s “If I Should Fall Behind” finds the duo singing gently over a peaceful backdrop of subtle fiddle, with light touches of acoustic guitar and sublimated banjo picking. The silky smoothness with each voice weaves a gentle fabric, keeping everything at a pleasant pace, allowing the listener to savor all of the detailed nuances that make this a sweet, thoughtful song.
“Caregiver” lets the duo show more of their vocal range. They maintain a low key vocal phrasing in terms of dynamics and tempo. Yet, they sing heavenly sustains that beautifully drawl out their theme of how to help those who usually maintain the role of helper. Brittle notes from their banjo and six string, buttressed by a silky fiddle phrase perfectly further the forlorn mourning.
“Get While The Getting’s Good” moves at a lively pace with an engaging chord progression and a couple of particularly fetching vocal phrases. With a bounce in their step and a mild breeze in their sail, Crowes Pasture keep the listener engaged with their bouncy enthusiasm.
“Agree On,” featuring a folksy fiddle line from Alice Hasen, moves at an arcing pace, constantly arcing at the end of each verse, creating a purposeful movement of music. The duo wrap their voices around one another, creating a sense of unity to support their theme of reconciling national differences. When the fiddle dances through the meters, the duo then emphasize certain lines, creating a solid emotive grist. It also highlights the perilous time of uncertainty we are all living through.
“Diamonds” too builds its grist upon the weave of vocals supported by acoustic guitar strum, brief bits of banjo, and a busy, sweet fiddle. This love song is as sweet as folk music gets, high notes that are highly pretty and male-female vocals moving in sweet harmony. Organic music made with voices and natural acoustic instruments can be as sugary as pop tunes. Yet, this duo and their fiddler get away with that by building it up the all natural way.
“You At Every Age” finds the duo singing pleasantly about the wholeness of a person’s lifespan, considering the person as who they were at each stage of life. The duo’s harmonies blend perfectly, beautifully, seamless. Their vocal flow is well augmented by a tender fiddle line that wafts in and out at just the right moments. Meanwhile, their flow contrasts well with perky little acoustic notes, banjo and six string, notes that make us feel the journey through life.
Crowes Pasture have a way with other songwriters’ material. Using Ben Schneider’s “The Night We Met,” written for his band Lord Huron, as a blueprint, the duo flesh it out with Monique Byrne’s sweet voice as well as the duo’s vocal sweep during the chorus. Multiple acoustic instruments put forth a tender, rustic vibe, something that can be easily played on one’s front porch even though it’s packed with serious emotive grist that could move a large audience.
“Barranco” makes for a lively barn dance number. Its vocals and bouncy fiddle pull one onto a wooden dance floor and makes one want to dance a two step. There is also plenty of rhythm in the vocal clip as well as the acoustic guitar and banjo notes perking around below. One can feel the motions in this song and want to move with them.
The final cut is titled “Bonus Track: Take Back The Red White And Blues,” a song concerned with taking the flag more seriously then just something to salute in homeroom. Acoustic instruments, including an appearance by fiddler Robin Batteau and bassist Neale Eckstein, weave an early American fabric of music as the lyrics create images of Old Glory’s higher purposes. They also sing of how people use the flag to promote negative causes as their delivery remains at the same level of expression, suggesting it’s time for flag waving enthusiasts to gain calmness and serenity.
Crowes Pasture continue to grow in terms of vocal and instrumental expression. Smoother, even more thoughtful than their previous efforts, Don’t Blink maintains a consistent quality of artistic achievement throughout its ten tracks. Its huge reservoir of subject matter documents the human experience in a variety of situations, and this creates a largeness of purpose for this duo. Produced by the duo and Eric M Lichter, mainly at Dirt Floor studios, Don’t Blink is a large welcoming dose of thoughtfulness.
