Canadian duo Madison Violet (Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac) have won a good number of fans in the UK with their stylish approach that takes in folk, roots and Americana, and wraps it in great vocals and harmonies – there’s a little of the Wailin’ Jennys in their music, but with a slightly fuller instrumental backing giving them a different sound.
The 11 songs here are all originals with the exception being one traditional song (‘Cindy Cindy’), the rest are either written by the duo or by the duo and other writing partners including Ron Sexsmith – and the quality of the writing is consistently excellent throughout.
There’s an impressive list of musicians on the album who provide a traditional Americana range of instrumentation including a variety of guitars, mandolin, drums, bass, keyboards, and backing vocals are provided by Ruth Moody and Blair Packam.
With two accomplished female vocalists, the focus is fully on the singing and harmonies, and it gives the album a warm, effortless and smooth feel throughout, but there’s just enough variety in the songs to give the album balance.
Track listing
1 If I could Love You
2 Home
3 Goin Away
4 Stuck in A Love
5 Fallen By The Wayside
6 The Good in Goodbye
7 Come As You Are
8 Colour in Grey
9 Emily
10 Cindy Cindy
11 Christy Ellen Francis
review 28 Dec 2011
