Photo from Feather and Folly’s MySpaceEvery once in a while you walk out of a joint remarking something akin to "that place has its shit together". This was exactly the impression made after my first foray to Northeast Kingdom on Saturday, but don’t let such a vague compliment as that make you think I imply a lack of affection.
I needn’t add much to the review of the place, except to mention that I had the orecchiette pasta with caramelized shallots, baby arugula, and topped with French raclette, the description of which I should think is endorsement enough in itself. But what I must relate here (and try my best not to go on and on about) was the unassuming, intimate, and slightly-but-appropriately eerie performance by Feather and Folly that we were there to see.
One almost hesitates to make too loud a mention of this Brooklyn-based band, because it’s the sort of act you hope you’ll always see in a small dark room with fifteen or so people, as was the case Saturday night in the basement of the restaurant (the NK Den, as it’s called). Imagine a duo consisting of Lisa Hannigan and a less-infantile Kimya Dawson (and give them both a healthy sprinkling of Deb Talan from the Weepies), and you’re halfway there.
Now give one of the girls (Holly Overton) an acoustic guitar and ukulele to switch between, and for the other (Julia Hermannsdottir) an assortment of percussion toys including a tambourine, pair of maracas, and a small xylophone (Feather and Folly does have a third member, Toby Liebowitz, but she was not present at the NEK show). But hold on a second, because we haven’t added in the most important ingredient: the delicately-measured usage of creaky vocal harmonies, which makes it requisite that candles be lit in whatever room these girls are playing (as if that wasn’t already the case).
How refreshing to see a folk-pop duo embracing simplicity of sound and not engaging the pretensions laden in so much of the current class of the genre. True, perhaps it’s easier to charm a crowd when it’s a small one, and local, and when you don’t need the nuisance of microphones and amps that get in the way of a natural sound. But there is something to be said for the economics employed in using two voices and two instruments for every song, and it brings to mind in form (if not in sound) the idea of the old-school folk duo (Simon & Garfunkel, Dylan & Baez, even the Indigo Girls).
Take "Once Again," a song that engages a layered approach that was pattern to much of their set. A repeating xylophone riff is established; melodic but somewhat haunting. A few repetitions, then vocals are layered on, the girls in sync. Two lines into the first verse they branch into a harmony, and we have three separate repeating tracks of sound going, which diverge further as they move into the chorus (if you want to call it that; most of their songs take ambiguous liberties with such things), culminating in seemingly-disparate voices that have all stemmed from the same original melody.
These are understated, pretty songs, but though the girls managed well enough to quickly switch instruments as needed, one still finds himself somewhat disappointed in the short length of each piece in the band’s repertoire. None of the songs played Saturday were much over two minutes, leaving a certain feeling of dissatisfaction, as though we only got the iTunes samples. This surely speaks to the richness of the music we were treated to, of course, and in time it seems natural that Feather and Folly will glean more and more out of the sound they’ve fashioned from their trusty xylophone and ukelele.
For this weekend, though, it was quite pleasurable enough to sit back with a drink on one of the Den’s couches and let them take us on into the night. I think it was put well when Holly asked how they were doing on time, and it was replied by someone in the crowd, "Girls, you’ve got all the time in the world…"
