Folk, acoustic guitar, singer/songwriter, acoustic folk. What we have here is Mark playing the acoustic guitar and Mary singing. Occasionally Mary will also play the guitar or the piano. Simple, listenable, unpretentious stuff. This is their first album.

Most of the songs are pretty similar: the guitar arpeggiates up and down while Mary sings. This isn’t the sort of album that one listens to all the way through…that would get a bit tedious. Each individual song, though, is quite beautiful. Mark and Mary operate within a narrow aesthetic, and they rarely surprise you, but what they do, they do well.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a clean, acoustic, impeccably crafted song to add to a set. Try 1, 2 (FCC), 3, 4, 8—but especially 3.

1) “First Fall Nights” (3:17): Clever, catchy, sincere stuff. Plucking at the guitar, sitting on a country porch at twilight.
2) “Hospital” (4:44): (FCC: FUCK) Guitar rolls forward like a river. Gentle but not tuneless.
3) “When Your Elders Are Tall” (3:34): Mary’s voice sounds lovely on this one and it’s surprisingly catchy.
4) “A Racing Heart” (4:42): Voice opens alone—kind of eerie. Guitar comes in and the song becomes richer. Ending is instrumental.
5) “Green Gold Violet” (4:52): Guitar continues to pad forward.
6) “A Gracious Host” (3:24): I love the lyrics here—enigmatic but really evocative.
7) “Walk with Me” (3:39): Guitar gets some more virtuosic bits here.
8) “Cold Spring” (3:22): A brighter sound on this track: a nice change.
9) “Sirens Call” (3:59): More reflections on mortality.
10) “Sing a Fare Thee Well” (3:18): Again, a bit more upbeat.

—Mr. Tumnus