Thunderbolt & Lightfoot Songs for Mixed Company Review by Gary Hill
This is the second album from this duo (Phil Barry and Sarah Fuerst) showcases a great modern folk style. There are part of this that call to mind Simon and Garfunkel to me. That's to a large degree because this act has harmonies to rival that classic duo. The music here covers a fairly wide range of territory from European cafe inspired sounds to folk rock and country.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Let’s be Friends
I love the vocal harmonies at the start of this cut. The music intricate and pretty.
Miss Me
A mellower cut, this is much more of a country number.
Can’t be Trusted
We're back into the intricate, mellower territory on this piece. It's along the lines of the opener. The harmonies on this song really shine, too. The funny thing is, there are even some hints of Pink Floyd in some of the over-layers on this cut.
Sad Song
This rises up gradually. It has more old school roots music in the mix. It is tied to European cafe music in some ways. It's a nice change of pace.
Goodbye Is Not the End
Speaking of that old school European cafe sound, this is set even more fully in that territory.
Year of the Monkey
This is another cut that brings a lot of variety. This is much more of a rocker than the rest of the set. In fact, this is more of a folk rocker with the emphasis on the rock side of the equation. The organ adds a lot to the mix.I really dig the electric guitar solo on this piece.
Vesper
This is an intriguing folk music instrumental. It has some particularly intricate guitar work.
Sweetest Baby
Another that's more along the lines of folk rock, this doesn't rock quite as much as "Year of the Monkey" did. It's a bit more of a catchy mainstream piece.
I’m on Fire
Here they do a slow, folk music take on the Bruce Springsteen song. I like this quite a bit. It has some intriguing elements of Americana.
Dearly Beloved
This mellower, slow moving number is set very heavily in country music traditions.
