Swearingen and Kelli The Marrying Kind Review by Gary Hill
This is a duo made up of AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli. They are not only a musical partnership, but a married couple. Perhaps that is a factor in why they work so well together. They really manage to blend their sounds nicely. Their music falls on the country side of pop rock music. It's effective and solid, and they keep it entertaining throughout the length of the disc.
Starting on piano, this comes in with pretty balladic mode. This is a strong tune, but it feels a bit overlong to me.
Annalise
Here we've got a more energized country number. This is classy stuff. While the female vocals drove the last tune, this one is based on male vocals with the female ones serving as backing.
Why Wait (On a Good Thing)
This number features more shared vocal duties. It's a classy number that seems to fit between the first two songs in terms of intensity and style. It's definitely country based music.
Trying to Try
Another ballad, this one is based on acoustic guitar instead of the piano that created the backdrop for the opening number. The female vocals are the main ones here. This is an effective number.
You Run Away They do a nice job of sharing the vocal duties here, but the male ones are the most prevalent. This is a mid-tempo number that's part pop music and part country. It's another solid tune.
Leaving Yourself Another balladic cut, this is a solid number. It's not a huge change, but it is cool.
Let Your Freedom Ring Starting with acapella music, this works out into a slow moving, bluesy styled rocker. There is a lot of gospel music in the vibe of this, but yet it's more of a rock song than anything else to this point. The female vocals hold the song. It's a short tune, but it might be my favorite cut here.
Survival Modern country sounds are at the core of this piece. The male vocals are the ones in the lead position here. This is a dramatic and power song that's one of the best of the disc. This is basically a ballad, but it's got more meat on the bones than that description really conveys.
Devil from the Hills Another that's slower and a bit on the mellower side, this is classy stuff. It's falls more clearly into the ballad approach than the previous cut did. I like the way they use the two voices to bolster one another. There is a bit more rocking stuff further down the road.
Don't Tell Me That She's Gone
This mid-tempo cut is fun stuff. It's probably more pop rock than country, but the country is still represented here.
Complicated Another mid-tempo piece, there is a lot of solid country music built into this one. The female vocals drive it, but there are enough of the male ones to make the presence know. I like this, but it's not as strong as some of the rest.
Satellite Friends Another balladic one, this makes for a good closer.
