Simple, light and lovely acoustic folksy stuff. Interesting mix of normal (guitar) and odd instruments (kalimba, autoharp) and interesting use of atmospheric/ noisy elements in a few songs. This really is a hidden gem of sorts. A little Adem, a little Mirah. My picks: 4, 9, 1, 8, 3, 7.

LOCAL! Delicate, singer/songwriter folk duo currently based in Santa Cruz. Ayla & Davyd are siblings, originally from Sonoma County. Ayla has a lovely & floating voice that has a classic, old-time quality yet feels fresh and new. Davyd’s voice is similar and equally strong and tender. Together they create youthful, storytelling folk ballads with beautiful lyrics full of vivid images and characters. Both handle their instrumentation with care; creating a delicate and floating sound in their songs that pay homage to traditional folk music yet are fresh and present. Their songs have a simple, lo-fi feel that adds to their earthy/raw quality. Beatbeat Whisper are a sincere duo, grounded and completely in love with creating and sharing, and you can feel that in their songs (esp live!). My review may be a bit biased because Ayla is my best friend, but trust me.
NO FCCs Picks – all!

1! – soft and floating, delicate; lilting acoustic guitar, fem/male storytelling vox; harmonica adds to the charm of this simple song
2!! – dreamy and airy fem/male vox w/strumming acoustic guitar; great lyrics and mixture of vocals playing off of each other
3! – happy folk pop tune; finger picking acoustic guitar and mandolin, beautiful and playful fem vocals
4!!! – another dreamy song w/beautiful spacey/floating electric guitar and finger picking acoustic guitar; tender and heartfelt lyrics, soso great!
5! – another happy folk tune - a sing along for sure!; strong fem/male vocals, acoustic guitar strumming, and a tambourine! has a lo-fi/fuzzy quality to it, which makes it so great!
6!! – yes! Upbeat and playful tune w/prominent mandolin strumming and mostly male vocals and playful lyrics; sounds more traditional folk/bluegrass
7!!! – childlike and playful w/lyrics about the life of a river; dreamlike quality with muted beautiful fem vocals and delicate acoustic guitar; recorded live at kzsu aug 15, 2006 (lo-fi style on my show)!
8! – traditional western sound, driving mandolin strumming/finger picking and acoustic guitar, deep and strong fem vox – semi spoken
9!! – more delicate and childlike tunes with soft mandolin finger picking and bells or soft piano I can’t tell – sounds like a music box; sweet lyrics about stories from childhood
10! – fun and dancey pop tune, silly and lo-fi; more electronic than others w/a drum machine, simple piano tune; vocals include cute young girl (their cousin); featured on latest “Stanford Soundtrack”