CommonUnion59

Folk country music has experienced a bit of a revamp in order to modernise and popularise its sound for contemporary audiences…and then there’s CommunionUnion59 with the follow up to their debut album that revisits the classic roots of the genre. Brought to us by a songwriting duo who hail from San Francisco, ‘Heartbeat Serenade’ is out and out Americana bliss.

‘Heartbeat Serenade’ displays a bumpkinly simplicity – like original songs produced over homemade bow stringed instruments. The rough, countrified edges only add to the sentiment of the stories they communicate. The titular song ‘Heartbeat Serenade’ is the midway point of the album and marks a subtle change from folk to a more psychedelic soft rock in which Stephen McKenzie barely stretches his vocal range. In the main though, less is more in traditional binary form. Musically, many of the songs are structurally and tonally similar but encompass a diversity of themes.

There’s a 60s/70s Haight-esque spirituality and emotionality about the realistic narratives that the pair harmonise. These are intimate experiences in their lives that have shaped them into the creative force that they are today. I like that the songs are not enigmatic – it’s plain and simple and lovely and eloquent all at the same time. A heady brew of love, happiness, hope and regret is portrayed in a sensitive and dynamic manner to a variety of melodies.

Laura Malasig has a thick Southern drawl that emits from her vocal performance as opposed to McKenzie who really has no accent at all to his baritone. Still, the pair complement one another well. Oddly though, some of the songs are spent with each taking a solo shot at the material rather than a complete album of collaborations. It’s actually quite a smart ploy that markets the album as a varied crossbreed of authentic country and vintage rock n roll. CommunionUnion59 are what it would sound like if Tammi Wynette and Paul Simon got together on a project and it makes for interesting listening.