Ooh, I like a good premise, and that's what The Young Novelists
have given us on their third album, In City & Country. As opposed to
the dreaded concept album, which tries and usually fails to deliver a
cohesive story line, an album with a good premise is one that gives you
several songs (although not necessarily all of them) based around one
idea. Here, literate folkies Graydon James and Laura Spink look at small
towns vs. big cities, getting out into the country from their Toronto
homes. This isn't some loaded idea of city kids getting in touch with
nature though; writer James is a professed farm boy who loves small
towns (and covered bridges, he stuck one on the group's last album
cover). But the couple love the city too, and here are looking at the
magic in each, while keeping mind that city people generally feel
there's nothing to do in a smaller place, while rural fans complain
about the soulless nature of metros and suburbia.
It's
fun to follow that thread, hearing lines like "Even the cities are
calling out," from the title cut. In Two Of A Kind, you can hear them
describe the town of Goderich, ON, as they relate the story of a love
triangle dilemma. What's even more cool about the premise is that they
actually went to several places to do research on events, the geography,
and to soak up the local attitude. Of course, you don't need to follow
any of this, you can just enjoy the performances. I love the harmonies
from the duo on each song, not just saved for choruses but often heard
through much or most of a track. It's folk-rock, closer to calm for the
most part, but they do get in your face at times, Come Round Again a
sharp guitar-drums rocker, still with those twin lead vocals though.
Lots of the songs have clear '60's pop harmony influences, and I'd
compare some of them to the wistful, baroque quality of middle-period
Byrds cuts such as Goin' Back and Wasn't Born To Follow.
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