Slowly But Surely is a fitting title for this existential folk record. I often write on this blog about how music can have a tendency to get under my skin in a good way. But that’s exactly what Jill and Micah do. They released this record over the summer, but it’s on this rainy autumn evening where I sit sipping on my hot chai latte that I sense this music beginning to truly hit the spot.
Is it that I had to be in the right mood before appreciating this album or did this slowly but surely grow on me (pun intended)? I’m not sure, but whatever the case I’m glad I’m there now.
It’s during the cleverly titled “Primary Colored Dreams” that I realize I’m getting an air of familiarity from this band. Early Blind Pilot vibes, I think. The band needs more strings for the comparison to be seamless, but the rainy-day meets pacific northwest soundscape (this is starting to sound like a trendy instagram post from a couple of years ago) really is hitting the spot.
Jill and Micah, in their bio, poke fun at the fact that Jill tends to default to love songs for her husband and that Micah’s content is all over the place. A quick glance at the lyric booklet shows this is indeed true. Rainy day music that mixes the straightforward with the whimsical. I can get behind that.
One track that stands out in the straightforward sense is “Home.” Actually, there is one thing that isn’t straightforward about this song: you don’t often run into folk songs that clock in at close to eight minutes long unless there’s a detailed story to be told. But, “Home” isn’t an epic tale of anything other than the melancholy that comes with never quite feeling comfortable where you are. There’s more depth to the song than that though – it’s also a tale of perseverance.
“Mr. Landlord” is a more silly song that for the first two thirds of my listen had my wondering if it was a true story. When we got to the part involving homicide I was amused at such a sweet couple singing of casually murdering a greedy landlord and expressing no shame. So there’s one way of writing a whimsical folk song.
Jill and Micah are in the Columbus scene to stay and this album shows me that they mean business. It will be a slow climb into the broader local consciousness though, if my experience with this album is any indication.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/276725759″ /]
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