Racing Heart / In One Wind / The Great Republic of Rough and Ready

21+ with ID.

The short version is that Racing Heart play indie folk, but try instead to imagine the earnest yearnings of American golden era pop music, the earthiness of the English folk revival and the searching spirit of contemporary Scandinavian indie rock, and you'll have a better idea of what the music sounds like. Tonight at Union Hall marks the US release for their debut record To Walk Beside that Ghost (out April 20th on Movemountains)! Centered on the soft acoustics of voice, finger-picked guitar, autoharp, upright bass and drums, but embellished and expanded upon by both analogue synthesizers, a string quartet and brass trio (the stated goal always being that each sound must serve the song and not just act as decoration) this album carries with it inspiration from many different musical decades.

In One Wind is comprised of vocalist and guitarist Angelo Spagnolo, vocalists Mallory Glaser and Samantha Rise, bassist Robert Lundberg, multi-reedist Steven Lugerner, and drummer Max Jaffe. Forming early in February 2009, with Lugerner and Jaffe joining in the summer that year, In One Wind has performed throughout the NYC area while sustaining tours throughout the Midwest and California. In August of 2011, In One Wind released their first full-length album, How Bright a Shadow! on the Primary Records label. From a Wendell Berry poem of the same name, the title signifies the feeling of the album: through a harmonious optimism, there is a tautly stretched thread of despair.

The Great Republic of Rough and Ready re-examine the traditions of country, folk, and blues in a unique style that is at once an offering of respect, an act of conservation, and an insightful critique. Their stripped-down reinterpretations - encompassing the works of artists from Ma Rainy to Skip James to Hank Williams - are steeped in craft, and imbued with a haunting stillness and subtlety. The sound is lonesome, quiet and incisive. It delights in small silences.