#11 - THE STAVES: "If I Was"
So, I'm going to come clean. First, I need to confess that I didn't even discover these guys, let alone this album, until October, 2015. I probably didn't even get the album until November, 2015. Second, I need to be honest... if I had been given more of a chance to become familiar with this album, it would probably be higher up list. Significantly higher.
I came to know the music of The Staves by way of a documentary on Netflix, titled, "Austin to Boston" (by Marcus Haney) which documented a tour of several musicians from South by Southwest in Austin to Boston, on the extreme east coast of the United States. The Staveley-Taylor sisters (Emily, Jessica and Camilla) were among that small group of musicians. These three young ladies hail from the United Kingdom and started gaining a bit of a buzz among Americans, when they opened for The Civil Wars several years ago. If y'all haven't heard The Staves, I recommend you watch that documentary. Not only will you most probably discover some great artists (Nathaniel Rateliff, who has just hit a respectable level of fame, thanks to his hit single "S.O.B.", as well as U.K. Folk singer, Ben Howard), but you will get to hear the magic that is The Staves live...and singing A'Capella behind the scenes.
Wow. Just wow.
Americana is a genre of music that is, for the most part, American. One may argue that it would be applicable to ALL of North America, as our neighbors (or neighbours, if you will) to the north are fully capable of producing some of the finest Americana. That said, it isn't all that often that the Brits break into the scene. Robert Plant has. Mumford & Sons have. For this fan of Americana, I'm excited to see the genre become an international style of music.
Enough of my yammerin' on. Do yourself a favor... sit back, remove yourself from all distraction and watch the talent of these girls. LISTEN to how beautifully tight their harmonies...and savor the beauty of their music.
"Steady"
"Teeth White"
"I'm on Fire" (Bruce Sprinsteen Cover)
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