Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer
Album: Maritime
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.daveandmandymusic.com

2011's Seed Of A Pine was the first official collaboration between these two compelling songwriters (I reviewed it here at the start of 2013), and its followup Maritime is every bit as exquisite, every bit as subtle and beautifully crafted - and every bit as great-value (54 minutes of brilliantly evocative songs without a remotely weak cut). And once again, its sheer quality, though abundantly obvious right from the opening bars, may nevertheless take a time to insinuate itself into your brain, principally because the songs' apparent simplicity is highly deceptive, and the writers' cleverly mature grasp of structural complexity resides within almost every song. Dave and Mandy have re-enlisted the musicians who did such a great job on Seed Of A Pine (Mike Grigoni on lap steel, Sasha von Dassow on cello, Andrew Lauher on drums and Christopher Merrill on bass) together with producer Zach Goheen, and the unity of sound and feel is both gentle and staggering. While the booklet note proudly states that "the album was recorded in a beautiful home in a quiet forest on a patient island in north-west Washington (State) over the course of eight days in the spring of 2014".

Through a consoling presentation of thought-provoking yet often challenging lyrics that both ask important questions and provide considered answers, Maritime's songs leave the listener cleansed, spiritually invigorated, by embracing and conveying the spirit of the place that subliminally reveals so much more than a city-recorded album would've done. The songs come together in this context to form a carefully managed, closely integrated and entirely satisfying sequence that (while acknowledging that all of the songs were "created collaboratively")'is this time slightly biased in favour of Dave's compositions (six, as against three of Mandy's and three jointly penned), albeit that the general rule of thumb is that each of them takes the vocal lead on his/her own songs. The stimulating ride through personal recollection and forward-thinking takes the attentive listener from the free-falling yet curiously unhurried rush of Helicopter and Compass, and out of the haunted belfry of Carillon, whence we experience the unique sensory stimulation of Morning Song and the emotional overload of How The Sea, then receive an invitation to tumble headlong into the Dark Dark Woods before being laid to rest (Rain On The Rosemary). The agony of being left alone (Silence) then calls forth a powerful, regretful reminiscence (Tide Moon Ship Horn), and a crucial state of mind is then reflected in the surroundings on Conspiracy Of Ravens.

With this set of uniformly excellent songs employing a quietly stunning use of imagery and totally engaging musical backings that make great use of electric guitar texturings alongside the refreshingly understated Americana-acoustica bedrock, this has turned out another landmark CD from the achingly empathic Dave and Mandy, and a sure contender for my year's best-of list. My only gripe is that the couple, having taken note of my previous comment and sensibly arranged some dates in the north of the UK for their next tour (starting end-September and continuing thru October), these happen to coincide completely with my planned holiday (which was booked months ago!), which is most frustrating!

David Kidman