Thursday 19 August 2010



A home in the top boughs

NEW MUSiC: Colleen and Paul

(photo: myspace.com)

On a hazy, humid Sunday night in mid-August, when the sun sets noticeably later than it did just two weeks ago, nothing seems to make more sense then sitting on the back porch with your beverage of choice and an album as beautifully simple and straightforward as the self-titled debut of Colleen and Paul.

Colleen Hixenbaugh (By Divine Right) and Paul Linklater (The Pinecones) are a match made in musical heaven.  They blend the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel with the slinky sexual tension of Sinatara and Hazlewood.  Backed by a rhythm section featuring Christine Bougie on drums and Darcy Yates on bass, the songs on Colleen and Paul are unadorned mini symphonies.  You’ll end up holding your breath in the closing moments of “Shouldn’t I Breathe” as the song spins a psychedelic, gossamer web.  It’s enchanted, as is its follow-up track, “Mermaids and Surfer Girls”.  The playfulness of Hixenbaugh’s lyrics sometimes peek at a dark and twisted sense of humour, but there always seems to be a sly smile and twinkle in her eyes.

I didn’t need the alcohol to help get into this record, but I can’t help but feeling that there was some kind of cosmic intervention at work, keeping me from actually listening until last Sunday night.  I ended up playing the record over and over again, sitting out back, watching the clouds gather and dissipate.  All the pieces just seems to fall into place perfectly.

Colleen and Paul is available now through Boompa Records.

MP3: Colleen and Paul “Please Be Kind”
MP3: Colleen and Paul “Shouldn’t I Breathe”
Myspace: Colleen and Paul





by J. Di Gioia | Comments Off

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