Due to the Darkness

From the Badlands of South Dakota by way of the Pacific Northwest comes The Gossamer Strings' sophomore album, Due to the Darkness. At first spin, the album has a smooth, laid-back appeal, dominated by deftly spry picking and satiny harmony singing courtesy of Eugene, Oregon-based Kyle McGonegle (guitar, mandolin, bass) and Liat Lis (banjo, guitar, lead vocals). Subsequent listening sessions impelled a deeper, more rewarding impression, as the duo winds through three traditional and eight original songs including a duelling guitar showcase, ‘Big Sky’. The musical palette is stripped down and old-time-like but not old-fashioned. Drawing on elements of bluegrass, Western balladry and Appalachian folk, Lis and McGonegle impart a distinctly authentic, down-home vibe to a trad-classic, such as ‘Sandy Boys’ (also known as ‘Poor Boy’), while offering a melodically inventive take on romantic entanglement in ‘No Fire’. Lis has described the songs as being ‘about finding and appreciating the beauty in the dark and inhospitable places we find ourselves sometimes. Those places can remind us of our vulnerability and, hopefully, of our strength.’ In more ways than one this is an illuminating album.