One of the first things you're going to notice when listening to this disc is the "Voice." Lahna Deering sings like she swallowed every great female voice of the past hundred years, mixed them in her soul, then projected them through vocal chords scrapped raw by passions thousands of years older then her twenty some years. Your going to hear a lot about her voice in the days to come, with people comparing her to everyone from Stevie Nicks to Janis Joplin, but that's not going to tell you squat until you hear her for yourself.
At first listen, the hard edged "Finally Found The One" that opens Break This Record might make you a little disquieted by what you hear. Well that's not too surprising considering how rare it is to hear honesty at all in modern pop music, let alone in life. But don't worry, like any other new and valuable experience, you'll soon find yourself wondering how you've survived this long without it.
If there is a more perfect accompaniment to Lahna's singing than Rev Neil Down's stripped down guitar wizardry I'd be surprised. Even with a full band behind them, you can still tell how well they compliment each other. There is a fine art to playing sparse lead guitar. Instead of playing sixty-five notes a second and hopping to find the right one, you play the right one every time to far more affect. Ry Cooder, the late Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful, and Keith Richards when he's on, are masters of this, and Rev Neil Down is cut from the same cloth.
While Lahna's voice is in full roar, Rev Neil's guitar runs underneath filling in the blanks in a song's melody. It's almost like the guitar is singing along with her, but instead of harmonizing, it works as a counterpoint to emphasise her phrasing and emotion. Not many can carry this off, probably the only reason they succeed is because of all the miles they've traveled together, but when a guitar and voice come together like this, it's a beautiful duet.
Article comments
1 - Terry Cumming
I am a big fan of Deering and Down and have been very fortunate to have seen them live (twice) in Whitehorse, Yukon (next to Alaska) where they are much beloved. I have also been lucky to hang out with them after their shows as one of my buddies recorded their first album in Whitehorse.
Deering and Down would be the perfect band to appear on Austin City Limits - that would be the optimum venue for this band (and they would deserve above all others to appear on such a stage). Their music is sexy as hell (and also heartbreaking and sad). Lahna is so beautiful on stage and the Rev Neil provides the appropriate accompinament on guitar. These two belong together musically and they deserve to be HUGE in the musical world.
Buy both of their albums and treasure them.