Singer/songwriters Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist say the 19 songs on this new double album were inspired by the rural Ohio farmland they call home, but the recordings were made in L.A. at producer Joe Henry’s Garfield House studio with Henry and his longtime engineer Ryan Freeland. Henry’s authentic and soulful, song-centered approach to record-making makes these tracks glow, with Bergquist’s sweet, sometimes jazzy vocal taking center stage among Eric Heywood’s delicate acoustic and electric guitars and pedal steel, Jay Bellerose’s sensitive drum/percussion work, and varying flavors of keyboard sounds from Patrick Warren, as well as that essential degree of air and space that’s a hallmark of recordings that come out of Henry’s studio. “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” is a highlight, featuring not only a lovely guest vocal by Aimee Mann, but also the elegant pairing of Bergquist with Heywood’s strings and some judicious effects that highlight the lonely beauty of the song brilliantly. These are wonderful, well-crafted songs made even better through the team’s warm, gentle treatment.
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Producer: Joe Henry. Engineer: Ryan Freeland. Recording studio: Garfield House (Pasadena, Calif.). Mixing studio: Stampede Origin (L.A.). Mastering: Gavin Lurssen/Lurssen Mastering (L.A.).
