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m u s i c<br />
Top Female Vocal Tracks<br />
to Enjoy This Fall (part I)<br />
By: Christian Davis<br />
& Monica Dolecka<br />
The Civil Wars - Falling<br />
– Featuring Joy Williams<br />
(Christian’s pick)<br />
With dark lyrics of love, this folk<br />
duet spellbinds audiences with<br />
their vocal chemistry and their<br />
uncanny image as two Alabaman<br />
sweethearts, circa 1864. The<br />
captivating pair, comprised<br />
of the ever-enticing Joy<br />
Williams and the handsome<br />
John Paul White, originally<br />
met at a songwriting workshop<br />
in Nashville in 2008<br />
(144 years after their ghosts<br />
THE CIVIL WARS<br />
were buried holding hands in a<br />
confederate cemetery from the<br />
American Civil War). Following<br />
their first single, “Falling”, the<br />
duo’s first album Barton Hollow<br />
sold 623K copies, landing them<br />
the first of four Grammy Awards<br />
for Best Folk Album, and was<br />
the No. 1 album on iTunes and<br />
Billboard Folk Albums chart.<br />
Fans were devastated when the<br />
couple split in 2014.<br />
HAERTS<br />
Haerts – All the Days –<br />
Featuring Nini Fabi<br />
(Monica’s pick)<br />
Formed in 2010, Haerts hails<br />
from the heart of Brooklyn.<br />
Nini Fabi, Ben Gebert, Garrett<br />
Lenner, and Derek McWilliam<br />
first tied their unique talents<br />
after joining souls as music<br />
students at the Iceland Academy<br />
of Arts – and they’ve been on<br />
fire ever since. Their first album,<br />
Hemiplegia, was released in<br />
October 2013 and has<br />
topped charts across the<br />
globe. Nini’s voice is<br />
one of a modern Stevie<br />
Nicks, a confident<br />
feminine roar reflecting<br />
a woman proud of her<br />
eclectic spirit – yet sultry<br />
– as her hum echoes<br />
into a soft background<br />
of xylophone, guitar and<br />
tambourine. Nini’s contralto<br />
voice invigorates the air with<br />
power and passion, while instantaneously<br />
humming back<br />
to cloak the soft strum of the<br />
guitar. “All the Days” oozes of<br />
melodious beach instruments,<br />
evoking a story of emotions<br />
about life, loss and coveted<br />
summer love. Haerts undeniably<br />
celebrates a fondness for<br />
the simple life. The group is<br />
currently touring this summer in<br />
both America and Europe.<br />
The Hics - Tangle –<br />
Featuring Roxane Dayette<br />
(Christian’s pick)<br />
The Hics, an admittedly lackluster<br />
monicker, is actually derived<br />
from Hickory, the type of wood<br />
used to make drumsticks. The<br />
mellow, urban and somewhat<br />
tribal vibe of this 6-piece electronic<br />
act is likewise comprised<br />
of a female and male vocal duet,<br />
starring the mellifluous Roxane<br />
Dayette and baritone, Sam Paul<br />
Evans. Lyrically, they deliver an<br />
awe-inspiring blend of riddles<br />
that thematically play into the<br />
locked horns of intimacy and<br />
individuality, and their metaphors<br />
address the persuasive<br />
elements at play when it<br />
comes to falling both in and<br />
out of love; hence, “Tangle,<br />
be close, just go, too close,<br />
confined to illusion pulling me<br />
in, dissolving before me, about<br />
to give in.” After having met at<br />
Pimlico Academy in Westminster<br />
London, the group released<br />
their first full length EP Tangle,<br />
in August of 2013.<br />
Lykke Li - I Never Learn<br />
(Monica’s pick)<br />
Swedish-born indie-pop singer,<br />
Lykke’s Li’s first single, “Follow<br />
Rivers” (2011) borrows the<br />
girlish swagger of modern popmuse,<br />
Ellie Goulding. Lykke’s<br />
vocals emit into the air a soft<br />
sweetness, although her lyrics<br />
explicitly assure women as powerful<br />
and self-sufficient beings<br />
who endure some of life’s toughest<br />
hardships.<br />
Her solo soprano<br />
voice is timeless, incorporating<br />
elements of<br />
electronica, indie-house<br />
and classical, blended<br />
with traditional pop<br />
and alternative. Lykke’s<br />
lyrics flow as one melodious<br />
string of love<br />
quotes and random life<br />
mishaps. Her down-toearth<br />
attitude rings with positivism,<br />
as well as realism, expressing<br />
all the happiness love brings,<br />
whilst sustaining the awareness<br />
that sometimes loss collides with<br />
love. “I Never Learn” reminds us<br />
to learn from our mistakes and<br />
know when it’s time to move on.<br />
THE HICS<br />
LYKKE LI<br />
“Haven’t you seen me<br />
sleepwalking?<br />
‘Cause I’ve been holding<br />
your hand.”<br />
Top Tracks:<br />
“Barton Hollow”,<br />
“Falling”<br />
“Golden things, we<br />
drew our names in the<br />
water. Now you’re gone<br />
– a love gone wrong –<br />
but I’ll make it.”<br />
Top Tracks:<br />
“Wings”, “All the Days”<br />
“Search for the<br />
divine to find the<br />
soul, the soul that<br />
encaptured mine.”<br />
Top Tracks:<br />
“Tangle”,<br />
“Lines”<br />
“I'm your star<br />
crossed lover. I lie<br />
here like a starless<br />
lover. I'll die here as<br />
your phantom lover.”<br />
Top Tracks: “I Never<br />
Learn”, “Follow Rivers”<br />
14<br />
revia reviamagazine.com <strong>#11</strong>, 2015