Written by Scott Wigley, posted by Jason
OFFICIAL: http://www.hm-music.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HumphreyMcKeown/
Heather
Humphrey and Tom McKeown first began working together in 2006 and found some
initial success working as a songwriting team and peddling their creations to a
variety of artists. It wasn’t long, however, until they found themselves
chomping at the bit to take their songwriting vision and do something with it
themselves rather than feeling beholden to the whims and professional vagaries
of another. It resulted in five albums, thus far, of uniformly high quality.
The latest release from the duo, Tapestry
of Shadows, is a twelve song affair with the sort of focus and wide ranging
vision we typically associate with the greatest of artists and acts. Their
sure-handed invocation of Americana music never follows a predictable path, but
contains recognizable elements reaching out far from a mere regurgitation of
the style’s trusty tropes. Tapestry of
Shadows delves deep into universal human experiences and has a spark of the
personal that will draw in many listeners.
The
opening track makes this apparent. “Beautiful” doesn’t go in for any of the
trite musical or lyrical explorations of the subject and, instead, hits a
solidly soulful and melancholy note quite unlike anything happening today in
the genre. The album’s third song, “You Don’t Know Me”, has a bittersweet
sentiment conveyed by a musical arrangement placing a premium on imagination
over obvious turns. Any predictability in the performance has a pleasing
variety – listeners can come to expect it and admire how well Humphrey,
McKeown, and their collaborators pull it off. “Flower on the Wall” has a more
traditional slant than many of the other songs on Tapestry of Shadows, but it never smacks of the imitative. Instead,
it serves as one more testament to the duo’s ability to refurbish traditional
minded material in a thoroughly modern way.
“Someday”
has a light, relaxed musical feel and the trading off of vocals between
Humphrey and McKeown finds just the right balance for it to prove an
entertaining listening experience. Their lyrical skills are always welcome –
few songwriters, singly or in tandem, are so adept at balancing the disparate
elements that go into making a great song while paying justified deference to
all of them. One of the album’s high points, songwriting wise, comes with
“Sasha on the Carousel”. This image-heavy song has a strongly personal air but,
still, retains enough universality to allow everyone to enter into its world.
The slight elegiac air pervading the track gives it a faintly sad air while
never belaboring the emotion. “Passing Shadows” opens up with some
hard-charging mandolin playing soon joined by some strong and simple drumming.
The song does an exceptional job balancing its attitude between alternating
Humphrey and McKeown vocals as well as different musical moods. The album’s
finale, “Sunshine Today”, has a bright uplift quite different from the earlier
songs but never so out of the ordinary that it doesn’t sound wholly consistent
with what has come before. It’s an excellent finale for an album that
personifies all the best qualities associated with the singer/songwriter or
Americana form while avoiding all of its excesses.
Grade:
A
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