Culture Collide’s yearly weeklong events in Los Angeles and San Francisco showcase new talent at a number of venues and event spaces. One of San Francisco’s “headliners” this year is Widowspeak, a country/rock/pop duo with four albums and countless influences. On any given Widowspeak album, you can hear a little Nico, a bit of Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Yukon Blonde, Yo La Tengo, Beck.. the list goes on. The end results can be haunting, or raucous, but it never seems sloppy or slapdash. Rather than being a redux of any of the duo’s obvious influences, the tracks that make up each album are cohesive and subtle.
Singer Molly Hamilton’s soft rasp would crush a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”. Like Lana Del Rey with a bigger range, Hamilton’s delicate, soaring tone can float above guitarist’s Robert Earl Thomas considerable ability and vast appreciation for his predecessors. One of their most recent singles, “Girls”, starts with a laid-back, slow acoustic riff, a cold clear harmonica melody, and sweet 60’s guitar-pickin’ lick before Hamilton steps in, meditating on age and growing up while younger, more streetwise kids are popping up around you: “I’ve seen girls younger than me/so sure of what they want/and it gets harder to focus on/what I wanna focus on,” she sings, expressing a vulnerability and honesty that can be hard to find.
On their latest album, All Yours, Widowspeak is considerably less classic-rock inspired. The more pared-down sound still has its guitar twangs and nods to tradition, but the minimalist arrangements and unconventional song structures seem more a part of 2015 than 1979. Narrows, another recent track, goes from stream-of-consciousness storytelling lyrics set in the presence to a big, catchy chorus of simply the song’s title again and again. It’s catchy without ever losing the band’s trademark pretty sound. Rather than repeating old tricks or diving deeper into the old records, Widowspeak has managed to grow and mature steadily with each album. They’ll be ones to watch, and you can do so live this October.
Culture Collide Presents Widowspeak @ Swedish American Music Hall
October 2, 2015
Show @ 8:00 PM
Tickets $20
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