19 May 2015

If I Was by The Staves

From The Sampler, 7:30 pm on 19 May 2015

Nick Bollinger consumes a collaboration between singing siblings The Staves and Bon Iver architect Justin Vernon.

The Staves If I WasThe Staves – a musical abbreviation of the surname Stavely-Taylor – are three Hertfordshire sisters who grew up singing along to their parents Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby/Stills records, gathered around a brother’s acoustic guitar. But their second album takes those voices in some new directions, both sonically and emotionally. Produced by Justin Vernon, otherwise known as Bon Iver, it places the sisters’ voices at the centre of an expansive soundscape, combining synthetic and acoustic sounds. The result sounds like a sibling, or descendant at least, of Vernon’s landmark album, For Emma, For Ever Ago.

Songs Featured: Steady, Blood I Bled, Damn It All, Don’t You Call Me Anymore, No Me No You No More, Teeth White, Sadness Don’t Own Me

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