Review by Sylvie Marie
Willow + Wood blur the lines between indie pop, Americana, and country on a musical road less traveled. Vocalist and songwriter Willow Scrivner met guitarist/songwriter Kevin Wood at a small Seattle venue called the Dubliner and they soon became critical darlings in the region's press. The two artists eventually got married and have been creating music together ever since. Willow + Wood’s music transcends time and place in a search for home. Each of the 11 tracks on the duo’s new album Tornadoes in My Head aches with hope and a broken heart. Most of their songs tell the story of trying to settle while unraveling and stitching together experiences and emotions. Off the album, their song "Coming Down Hard" is a testimony to their talent and their ability to evoke an emotional response from listeners.
An ethereal and melancholy drone on the keys grows dynamically, moving forward and into focus, before Willow starts singing the first verse. "It’s a warm night,
Last of September on the South side. Well hang me up to dry, Cause it’s coming down hard." Willow's voice sends aching shivers down your arms. Her gorgeous, earthy and slighty raspy voice is full of humanity's emotions. In this verse, she is singing about a heavy rain fall in a new city that reminds her of the heaviness of missing people you love who live far away.
As the song moves forward, arpeggios fill in the spaces while a bright acoustic guitar strums through the mix against light percussion. Soon the rhythm section picks up with a heavy bass that trods through the cloudy emotions and steady percussion - space and time in this song seem to float between the feeling of being somewhere new and looking back at what you have left behind Can it get any more gorgeous than this?
The contemplative chorus comes in with words to think about, asking the questions that ruminate when there is a river between the past and the future.
Will you dream me a river?
Throw me a line,
Write me a letter?
I’m running out of time.
I could’ve done better,
But I guess I’m doing fine." A moving guitar solo sings a sad melody that runs through the song's veins. Delicate vocal harmonies are lovely.
With an ethereal sense of lost time, tasteful musicianship that plunges into the song's heart, and a moving performance by Willow on lead vocals, "Coming Down Hard" rains down upon your soul with more beauty than most heart's can handle in just one listening.
Find Willow + Wood on Apple Music
Sream on Spotify.
For more information on Willow + Wood, please visit their website.
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