The cousins are Steve Mayone & Kristina Stykos. Steve is a Brooklyn based singer, songwriter and producer and Kristina is a Vermont based singer, songwriter and producer and they discovered they were cousins as late as 2006 when Mayone visited and played in Vermont and the two discovered that their grandparents were siblings. All this actually explains a lot about this album.
They have very distinct and different voices but they are both playing Americana, folk and Blues with a calm intensity that really is both attractive and irresistible. Their styles are different but complementary but when they sing together the harmonies are completely natural. I have reviewed both of them a various times, very positively, and hearing this album they actually sound as though they were the missing link of each others’ sound even though you would not have thought it at the time.
I have been listening to the album for days and it has quietly insinuated itself into my environment to the extent that I found myself humming the riff from ‘Stealing Away’ at the most inappropriate times. The songs have different characters depending on the writer with Styklos songs more forthright stories and Mayone a little more questioning and folky. When the two write together they manage to bring both elements together. ‘Rescue Me’ is a Mayone number featuring Patrick Ross’s fiddle and opens the album with a delicious piece of true Americana before Stykos ‘Backway to Victory’ brings the depth with a strong piece featuring Stykos halting vocal over acoustic guitar and crashing cymbals.
‘South Of The Chelsea Line’ was co-written and brings both styles together with sparse but delightful harmonies. They are clearly experimenting with each other’s music and discovering the places where they meet and separate but there really is a feeling of familial attraction – both of them seem to be enjoying playing with the other.
I would be hard pressed to point out a weak or filler track but the one track that I keep coming back to, time and again is ‘Sugar’ which has a Patti Smith feel to the poetry of the lyrics.
A delightful collaboration and well worth some very serious investigation.
