MDRF004THE AUTUMN RHYTHM
Secret Songs
SEP 2003 | 28:18 | Full Length CD
TRACK LISTING
01. Best of My Worst
02. Secrets
03. 1992
04. Not on My Life
05. Still There
06. Can't Say Anything
07. Bury Me Standing
08. Afraid to Fall
09. What I Thought
10. See You Again
Recorded by Gary Olsen and Bill Wells at Marlborough Farms.
Mastered by J Cannava.
REVIEWS
"Elegance shouldn't come easily, and elegant simplicity should be damn near impossible. That's why it took one-time high-school sweethearts Valerie Allen and Eli Queen more than three years to compose their gentle country-folk debut. With the help of like-minded artists like the Ladybug Transistor, Bill Wells and Kevin Barker (Currituck County), the Autumn Rhythm folds fingerpicked folk in with unassuming harmonies and an atmosphere of spare sounds that indeed seem full of secrets. There's nothing cloying about Allen's slightly raspy, breaking vocals or the demure guitars. Rather, the rainy-day reverb and simple melodies drip with the dark charm of Felt or the slow-burn pathos of Retsin. Secret Songs is at its best when the songs develop and resolve quickly, as on opener "Best Of My Worst" and standout "1992." These tracks jump into a mood and evoke it briefly, letting repeated listens confirm emotional depth rather than endless, self-satisfied rambling. Like obvious country and folk influence the Carter Family, the Autumn Rhythm knows that tightly written verse and solid pieces of melody don't need to wander and drag to resonate."
— J. Gabriel Boylan, MAGNET Magazine
LINKS TO OTHER REVIEWS
Rolling Stone
Splendid
Boston Phoenix
