The
Vespers are one of those lucky young bands who are becoming a word of
mouth sensation though they've only quietly self-released one record.
With two sisters on lead vocals and two brothers filling out the sound,
the foursome are distinguished by an arsenal of instruments and the kind
of harmony only siblings can create. They have toured from Boston to
Austin, hitting everything from festivals to college campuses in
between. On The Fourth Wall out April 3rd, they create infectious folk-pop with both the buoyancy of youth and deeper spiritual themes.
The lead
vocalists Callie (21) and Phoebe Cryar (19) were brought up in a musical
family in Nashville, honing their gifts as young kids singing
background vocals on Music Row. While their pure harmonies are described
as “ghostly and haunting” and “honey sweet,” they both have expansive
characteristics to their vocal and instrumental abilities. It was a
chance meeting at a campfire jam that brought the sisters an earthy
grounding in brothers Bruno (20) and Taylor Jones (22), who were drawn
to gritty southern rock and the depth of their father’s record
collection that included soul music from the likes of Stevie Wonder.
Everyone
in the band contributes to the songwriting, and the only outside track
is influential bluesman Son House’s “Grinnin In Your Face,” but the most
prolific writer is Phoebe who contributed to nearly every song,
including “Better Now”, the record’s opening track. “I came up with the
melody and Bruno pounced on it, writing the bridge that completed the
song,” she shares. “It was drawn from the biblical story about the man
blind from birth who was healed, and no matter how much he implored -
they wouldn't believe it was possible.”
“We all
grew up listening to a little bit of everything, but roots music didn't
come in until more recently,” says Bruno. “Folk and roots music tend to
draw from spiritual themes. We don’t run away from our faith when
writing, because that's where our hearts are planted.” On “Lawdy,” the
song starts out sounding like a swampy old mountain tune before growing
into a full-bodied Sunday morning spiritual. “We were originally playing
it really fast with drums,” says Callie, “but we slowed it down to be
more bluesy. I wanted to hear that sound of Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna
Cut You Down.'”
The
Vespers also offer a full share of effervescent pop songs like “Will You
Love Me” and “Flower Flower.” Callie and Bruno wrote the latter when he
said he needed a “summertime jam.” Callie hummed a melody, and the tune
quickly sprung up on the banjo, ukulele, drums and bass. “Most of our
songs come about really organically like that, without planning to
write. It just happens and we try to let it flow,” says Bruno.
“Got No
Friends” is a tip of the hat to the bluegrass genre. “We cut the first
half live around one microphone, which was a first for us,” says Taylor.
“That song was written right after the Nashville flood, and right as I
learned to play mandolin after our family business flooded. Our world
was really shook up after that May (2010). The flood eventually inspired
us to quit our other day jobs, school, and pursue music full time, on a
leap of faith.”
Most of
the songs have the energy of a live show because the band polished them
on the road, where they also came up with the album title. The fourth
wall, in theatre terms, is the invisible wall between the audience and
performers. “Our music reflects that. We decided to go on tour shortly
after we joined forces and we really learned what our band was all about
while playing to the people at our early shows. It shaped us and that’s
how we really became ‘The Vespers.’ It's all about connecting with
people and breaking down that invisible wall,” Says Callie.
The
Vespers will be on tour this Spring covering the right-hand side of the
map beginning with a showcase at the Folk Alliance in Memphis. Dates are
being added currently at
www. thevespersband.com
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