We haven’t heard a collection of songs from Utah’s Adam and Darcie since the summer of 2009 but the wait has been worth it. This release is everything you’d expect from the duo and this time they’ve teamed up with a few of their buddies to record the Early In The Morning EP. You might recognise Aotearoa from our World Cup compilation, Fast Forward, of last year and its appearance here feels just right given the recent tragedy in Christchurch. There are also a couple of covers amongst the 6 tracks which you can read more about below. Not many artists can do soothing melodies quite like Adam & Darcie, not that they are laidback in their arrangements as each song here has a beautifully delicate and intricate detail.
Here Adam gives the background on the EP, the covers included and how the band has changed since California Trail
On Covers:
Drew Danburry put together a video series called Reliving the 90s where different songs from each year of the decade were covered. When he approached us about NOFX’s Linoleum and we gave it a really good listen we heard some interesting things going on underneath the surface and thought it would be fun to explore and magnify them. There are probably some die hard NOFX fans who hate it, but we’re happy with how it turned out. Working with Drew in and of itself was an absolute treat, he is contagiously positive and uninhibited creatively.
Early in the Morning was something we’ve really wanted to cover for a while… both of our parents loved Peter, Paul, and Mary so for us it was something to kind of rediscover. It’s only been in the past couple of years that we’ve come to really appreciate the political significance and timeless beauty of their work as we’ve revisited it. Early in the Morning is essentially a gospel song with incredible lyrics that have a real power when your hear those three sing them. We’re big fans of JP Haynie so we were thrilled to have him sing with us and love the distinct clarity of his voice.
How we’ve progressed since California Trail:
It’s interesting because this EP is really a collection of various songs we’ve done for various projects spanning the past few years… some of which pre-date California Trail. The common thread between the songs we believe is the importance of the human experience and what we all share in that. Every song includes different friends who mean the world to us. We had a such a great time recording that when we hear the different tracks we’re reminded of a great sense of community.
The lyrics and performances echo sentiments of the human experience and community… 2 Cities speaks of being separated geographically from the people and places that matter most to you, how alone you can feel in those moments, and how quickly your priorities can change. Aotearoa deals with similar feelings of a longing for home and issues of identity and culture.
You can hear more of these themes throughout all the songs…and in several songs on California Trail. I guess it’s a topic that we really relate to.. When it comes down to it though we just hope people can find their own stories in the songs and enjoy listening to them as much we enjoyed making them.
More genius from the most underrated band in the country right now.