When They Fall – Annie & Rod Capps (reviewed by T. Bebedor)

Followers of American folk music may well be acquainted with Annie and Rod Capps, their 2015 album ‘Searching For Neverland’ gained strong reviews and set the tone for their most recent release. The style of music is familiar, the ingredients of guitar, mandolin, bass and percussion are all there and it’s an authentic dip into the music that would seem right at home being played on the porch of a farm house set against the backdrop of a sprawling farm or woodland. You see Americana music, when it is done well, acts like a form of audio postcard, building this image of sunsets and sunrises, evenings by the lake and the stereotypical view of America’s wild frontier. But, somewhat ironically, this wild, natural world is best revealed through the gentlest of music.

There is nothing startlingly new within the dozen songs on this album but what draws you in and will keep you returning again and again are the details in the mix and the variations on display, for this is escapism, a moment for yourself to visit a new landscape for a few minutes, to breath in the pine trees and imagine the full moon reflecting off the cool waters.

Musically, it’s without fault, fans of country, bluegrass and folk will find something to enjoy here and the percussion offers deft touches to keep things interesting without really revealing it’s secrets.

In an already over-crowded list of artists doing a similar thing, it’s difficult to stand out and be different, but there is something honest about the music Annie and Rod have written here, it’s not music that is designed to reach out and pull you in with catchy hooks and choruses. It’s music written for those in the know, those with an extended record collection who can tell the real from the fake, the true from the false and the musicians steeped in the history rather than someone passing themselves off as the next big thing.

If your idea of music heaven is a journey into a nicely structured (and nicely paced) world where the emphasise is put on the music and the words which weave stories, then this is for you.