Sado-Domestics’ sophomore effort Beach Day In Black And White makes a comely appearance, being interesting and accessible at once. Lucy Martinez and Chris Gleason present their likable, earthy, individualized vocals and winsome guitar work alongside Jimmy Ryan’s Mandolin finesse and Eric Royer’s pretty, rambling pedal steel. All of the instruments, voices, and songwriting ideas come together in this playful, twisty, and innovative album.
“Winter Coating” lilts forward with an involving sound. A perky electric guitar offers personality as a simmering organ lays out the enveloping nature of this tune. The two vocalists, blending their unique timbres well, guide their listener along with assertive gears and mechanisms. The pair know how to use their voices to tug the listener through their words while managing to fit their vocals into the accompaniment with unusual instinct and flair.
“Get In The Wind” finds Martinez applying her soft, emotive timbre to a pretty country landscape. She sends her supple voice over a pedal steel line and weaves her vocal into a dual line with the natural beauty of the instruments. This one drawls its fetching sound out to allow the listener to hear each and every sweet note coming at us.
Shuffling along, “Move On” travels to a tight two step rhythm, a rhythm augmented by snappy guitars and brisk low end. A firm, assertive lead guitar from Gleason makes some sparks as it moves along, and, the vocalists both add more snap to this hip motion number. Its movements motivate plenty of toe tapping as well providing a constant draw to its persistent snap.
“Out Of My Yard” feels like an Americana drawl. The vocals have a building tension, putting someone on notice not to trespass against the wrong terrain. A percussive groove keeps this hip, letting the upper registers instruments grind out their own warning shots with persistent edge. A mandolin dances its notes along with eerie, intrepid steps and an electric six string places a winding melodic line across with subtle, tone filled notes that also ring with a harrowing message of their own.
“Mountain Song” pushes its way forward like a strong personality throwing open a closed door. Its pulsating percussive groove, biting chord progression, and Martinez’s assertive, well-paced vocal clip take no prisoners as they stomp forward. A salty personality makes its presence felt, this pieces strongest hand.
“Spooked A Horse” carries the same vibe as its title, a hint of don’t mess as this male-female lead vocals continue to lay down their world weary tone. The voices move with steady purpose over a mellow electric guitar melody, a line that lets its considerate tones splash colors and tones over the soundscape. Its the combo of climbing vocals and effective guitar sound that makes its mark on the listener’s consciousness.
Martinez’s fetching vocal twang fits the chorus perfectly on “Bury It.” A gripping tale buttressed by haunting guitars, rustic banjo notes, and a drummer sensitive to what the song needs. Its instruments’ tones ring out with emotive purity, carrying this song as much as Martinez’s lead vocal.
A Gleason-Martinez vocal duet fills “Bacchus Lounge” with a nostalgic pull. Eric Royer’s pedal steel line adds a three dimensional lasso to pull the listener into a landscape filled with emotive duet, lyrics looking wistfully at the past, and Gleason’s melancholy mellotron melody, aimed at a late 1960s air of summer festivities. This pastiche of instrumental and vocal colors sums up the whole even better than its tasteful parts.
A lilting electric guitar melody pushes “Meteorites” forward, augmented by a sharp percussive track. The light accompaniment leaves open a space for that electric guitar to announce itself further with bright splashes of Jackson Pollack influenced colors and tones. Meanwhile, Martinez’s playful vocal work, suitably moving with the jaunty groove, contrasts beautifully with the grungy six string.
Gleason’s toys with a 1960s style organ swirl that perfectly colors “Take A Walk With Jimmy.” Throw in some thin, funky organ wah-wah and we have a mood piece that can’t be beat. Martinez’s sweet vocal rides over the old fashioned pop flavors with a smooth aplomb, a self-restrained glide that keeps it all in the pocked while maintaining its sunny tone.
Martinez’s mood piece close out track “‘Twas The Season” mournfully ponders holiday life after a relationship ends. Its acoustic guitar chord progression captures that mopey feeling one has when one has too much time on one’s hands sans partner. A low key organ simulates a lonely, forlorn feeling. Martinez’s plaintive, self-restrained vocal makes the listener feel what she likely felt when she was writing it. This mood piece is perfectly moody and placing its farewell mode at the end of this Sado-Domestics album was a wise move.
Sado-Domestics have sharpened and more deeply defined their sound and have more finely crafted their songs since their debut album. Beach Day In Black And White, recorded at Noise Floor Delirium in Roslindale, Massachusetts, plays like out like one personality going through different phases of life, giving itself cohesion with tasteful variables.
