DBT #192 Delicate and Wild - Stone & Snow

 

After a great house concert with Karen & Clint of Stone & Snow, it was a pretty obvious choice for what my Thursday release review would be.  You see I had funded the album with a vinyl purchase, and already had it before the concert, which was their album release show too.  So now this purrfect 6 song album is available in Bandcamp, just in time for April's Bandcamp Friday.

A quick visit to their website tells you they are admired by the best, NPR & American Songwriter.

If you are a follower of this blog (yes they appear now over 10 times), you might know I ran into them in the Great River Folk Fest Songwriting contest, and after the first listen I knew they would be in our top 12 finalists; and of course they were.  They finished near the top, but it was a tremendously global event that year since the submissions were free and during the pandemic musicians had a lot of time on their hands.  Also since it was the pandemic, I had a chance to sit down and Zoom interview all the finalists.  Here's their interview which was based on the Great River Folksinger Factoid questionnaire (stole the idea from Steven Colbert).  Too funny I mention Dave's Guitar's Shop should be a sponsor of the contest and in 2023 he's going to be for the first time!  We find out that lyrics mostly are Karen's influence and Clint helps the songs come together.  Talking to them definitely reinforced my love for them and their craft.

I am known for loving duo's and Karen & Clint bring their unique sound from their diverse background.  Karen's vocals sneak up on you as amazing and that comes from classic training; while Clint's instrumental skills are from a mixed background of cover bands and a desire to make even covers be new and not a copy of the original.  Blend that together and you get Stone & Snow with top harmonies and unique songs.

Let's listen to the album:

1) Cruel

This song is likely worth the price of the record.  It did get their first mention as a highlight in the NPR tiny desk contest highlight post.  Lyrically it's pretty simple and so memorable; and you know I love when an artist post their lyrics in Bandcamp.

Don't try to let me down easy
Please spare me your pity
I grew tired of the cruelty of your lovin' a long time ago

You were never really there for me
But you sure as hell enjoyed my moves
You would never do the same for me
Oh, the mountains I moved for you

And of course the video that got NPR's attention:

2) Moonrise

At the house concert, they played the whole album in sequence of the album, and Clint introduced it as the song they wrote for a contest to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing.  As each song changed it was fun to see how they changed instruments to mix up their sound; our full house all left impressed with these two.

While I do have a video from the house concert for this song, I have to post their produced video.

3) Who Am I

Genre boxes are always tough, and Americana is a big box; so that's what I tend to call their style.  This song though would stand up and be on the popular radio stations back on the 70's.  Back then was a time when a good Beatles song would be followed by Croce, Chapin, and many one hit wonders.  This song would stand test of time with again a simple and strong chorus sung in harmony.

This song they haven't got a produced video yet so I'm transporting you to Bluff View House Concerts. To let you in on the joke at the beginning of the video, Hobbes is our concert mascot cat was sitting in the front row with his face toward the second row.

4) Wait

This song can get you swaying in your seat as it starts with Clint's harmonica and duet harmony through the whole song.  Headphones are recommended to feel the texture of the piano and mandolin.

Again I had a choice of a few good videos for this song, but I'm picking the house concert one because it includes the description of the influence.  Note this is the view from the balcony in the concert.

5) The Hardest Part of Loving You

As Karen stated before the song, sometimes the hardest part is also loving yourself; a great break up song.

For the video, how about this year's Tiny Desk Concert submission, which finds Karen all sparkly and Clint on the electric guitar.  The acoustic version from the house concert is also post for contrast, and Clint's choice for instrument a National Steel guitar.

6) Outro

A gentle song ends the album, and another break up song.

Stuck in a real bad way
I refuse to slow down
And I grew so tired
Of this runaround
Oh there's no point
In holding on too long

'Cause I don't wanna play this game
I've no use for this crown
I need to believe
That change will come around
I need to know
I'm not the only one
I need to know
Am I the only one?

I do hope you enjoyed this as much as I do.  They are moving to Cincinnati soon, and will be closer to a mix of many more new fans; and that's another reason I was so happy to book them for the house concert.

Next steps:

- Stop over to the Review page to my other most spinned and loved albums.

- Browse the rest of the blogs by stopping at this "Theme Page."

- Enjoy Tune Tuesday which brings you one song from a past blog post.

- See what other post have been most popular recently with our Stats Page.

- Find out who in the world thinks he has the authority to write this blog in the About.

- Let me answer why you won't find the playlists on Spotify here.

- Finally, the Mission page explains why there is no advertising cluttering the page.

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