Welcome Joy

When Pretty Girls Make Graves broke up, founding member and bass player Derek Fudesco formed The Cave Singers joined by vocalist Peter Quirk formly of Hint Hint and drummer Marty Lund. The Cave Singers, though marking a radical change in style of music for Fudesco – from indie rock fuzz to folk – hit the crest of a popular wave, fitting snuggly in with the present rash of folk bands and singer-songwriters alike.

Their first release Invitation Songs back in 2007 met with mostly exemplary reviews. Their sound belied originality at times but Quirk's uniquely reticent vocals and the combined song writing talents of the band overall enabled The Cave Singers to hold their own ground. This then, their sophomore release Welcome Joy, catches the airwaves perfectly at perhaps just the right time for festivals and radio. 

Quirk's voice is certainly special, it must be said. It plays out as the most pulsating instrument on show here. It sets aside the band in the way Janis Joplin's voice may have; it's gargling and hoarse. It lays low with tenderness at times and at other moments, howls on high with the jarring jingling guitars and pattering drums. The album cracks wide open with ‘Summer Light’, a beautifully guided sugar rush and continues in much the same vein until ‘Shrine’ which bursts with a raggedness reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Actually, similar to the Rolling Stones, a lot of the material here skitters and ferries by in a typically up beat format. Which is a good thing. ‘Beach House’ leaves our singer pleading heart on sleeve while the drum and bass take off like a circulating heart beat. Though the emotions are evident from the get-go, intentions good, the formula does ebb considerably after track seven, VV. 

The musicianship is masterful all round. One cannot fault the flawlessness of the production. There is a delicate percussion throughout and the ambling guitars jump with unexpected chord changes shifting and moulding the songs expertly. There is a unified clarity here in the direction the band seeks. It all sounds very grown up and honest without sugar coating anything with any sort of commercial feel. But sadly, they should have. Just a little. The album lacks the bursting vibes or pop sensibilities that an Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes or Band of Horses will do time and again. And this is what will, though critically lauded, inevitably bog the Cave Singers down. It's all too clunky and heavy. Later songs like ‘Townships’ and ‘Bramble’ try to reach out a little further but to no avail. The mood stays the same. Modern Joy makes for a nice Ipod walk in the countryside. Maybe even in a forest. Or sitting by the sea. 

So while not being an excellent album, it is certainly a very good album. Especially if the listener is new to the on-going folk/rock scene. But, sounding like Fleet Foxes without the really good singable bits; is this the death of post-modern folk?