Dandelion

In their sophomore release, Emily and Ben Roberts serve up a unique blend of psych-folk & country that would nicely complement any Indie/Americana show. The disk is themed around the Dandelion, that beautiful, yet gritty wildflower that perseveres even under the harshest conditions. As such the tracks cover issues central to the human condition such as loneliness, depression and poverty. It does so though with an underlying sense of optimism driven by the enchanting tandem vocals of this husband/wife team which in turn are deftly complemented by violins, mellotron, cello and harmonica.

RIYL: Lumineers, Lord Huron, Tom Petty, Byrds

1 Light of the Moon - haunting slide guitar and tandem vocal opening with increasing tempo (med, 3:17)***
2 Lay Me Down - blissful tale of persevering through adversity with slide dancing around the vocals (med, 3:49)***
3 See You When I See You - pop-tinged story of a deteriorating friendship with ER on vocals and BR's harmonica (med, 4:54)
4 Hold Of Me - mid-tempo country rocker with BR on vocals & blistering guitar break (med, 3:12)*
5 Wildflower - soft pop sound (slow, 4:41)
6 Time Well Spent - finger picked guitar over BR vocals and string accents (slow, 3:40)
7 Dandelion - flower as a metaphor about perseverance with nice harmonica work (med, 3:42)*
8 Long Black Train - BR's deep vocals nicely complimented by a jangly guitar & harmonica (med, 4:14)**
9 Daylight - slow & dreamy, Neil Young sort of intro with shared vocals (slow, 3:30)**
10 I Wish It Would Rain - Fleetwood Mac like pop number (med, 3:39)
11 Don't Leave Me - ER on vocals with exquisite string accents (slow, 4:27)***
12 Carolina - folky vocals over an acoustic guitar (slow, 3:20) -