Within the melody and hopeful words of "Western Sky" are some echoes of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire." A simple guitar strum pattern with the entwined voices of McGraw and Fer tell a story of love and support, as does the line, "This time I'm really coming home." You know that feeling when you know you're going home to stay for a while? Or when you find the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with? "For you took this heart of mine and you placed it in your eyes," the song says, "You gave me peace of mind and with it I'll decide / That you will be the one when I lay my body down." I'd be surprised if this didn't become the wedding song for more than a few people in 2012.
And "Serotiny (May Our Music)" starts with a blues beat while speaking of the landscape of the heart and memory. Though I'm not sure if the couple in the song are playing music to the gods as an offering or the offering is between the pair of them, but they want to be heard. As they play guitars in the field, they sing, "Play for me your favorite song, pull me up into your sky / Where the thunder speaks in crazy tongues / And the gods do not decide." The melodies soar, tugged along by steady guitars.
I could talk about all of the songs on this album until the cows come home. Honestly this is one of those Jerry Maguire albums which "had me at hello." If you're a fan of modern folk and Americana, you can't go wrong with Seed of a Pine.
For more information, check out the album website, plus Mandy Fer's website and Dave McGraw's website. Seed of a Pine will be released on February 15.
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