Led by singer and songwriter Ellen Herget, and joined by Evan O'Neal (Bo and the Locomotive and Pretty Little Empire), Anne Tkach (Magic City and Rough Shop) and JJ Hamon (Magic City, Old Lights, Demon Lover), the St. Louis band has matured quickly since emerging in late 2009. Herget has a plaintive and believable country voice: There's not a false note or forced tone in the way she delivers an opening line like "I left home and headed for the mountains" on "Dharma Song," no matter that she's singing from the point of view of a restless, rural, male character. She fully embodies the story.
All of the songs from this live session tell stories, sometimes just in the delicate shades of the music: elastic, melodic bass lines and mournful electric guitar accompany the archetypal natural images of "Burden of Leather," off-the-cuff banjo and harmonies give extra sweetness to "The Sky Is Grey" and accordion lends "Mama Says the River" a timeless air of fate and mystery.
