Humphrey/McKeown’s fifth album

Based out of the Chicago area, musicians Heather Humphrey and Tom McKeown are a musical partnership first formed in 2006 and responsible for five well-received, artful studio recordings. The latest offering from the duo, Tapestry of Shadows, finds them recruiting additional musicians to further flesh out their songwriting. Jim Livas’ drummer mixes nicely with their work and the contributions of Tony Meadors and Gary Jacklin, on bass and violin respectively, are superb additions clearly geared towards realizing what the songwriting requires. The latest album features a dozen songs and there isn’t a single moment of filler heard on the collection. Instead, this feels and sounds like a true band effort while maintaining the duo’s singular flair for bringing new twists into Americana musical traditions while staying strongly connected to the spirit within those long-standing forms. Tapestry of Shadows is a fully conceived, cohesive work of great beauty and impact.

The rousing, string-driven storm of the album’s opener “Beautiful” sets an immediate tone. Humphrey and McKeown succeed in a varied way – the music and melodies alike have a sweeping, cinematic quality, but the lyrical content draws blood as well. The fiddle, in particular, glides through the song with impressive fluency. There’s a much more pronounced rural or Southern quality to the second song “Better Day” and Heather Humphrey’s singing approximates every drop of that slow molasses drawl. McKeown’s vocals come in at key. The smoky jazz flavors conjured with “You Don’t Know Me” strike an immediate groove and the light vocal touch applied by McKeown hits its mark without ever sounding belabored. The song certainly conjures some reflections on the torch song with the same classic title, but a number of turns make it significantly different and Heather Humphrey’s entry in the song’s second half gives it unexpected character. The mood is decidedly downbeat, but never unpleasantly so. The classy piano fills, in particular, underscore the melancholy mood.

There’s an unexpectedly bright banjo bounce that keeps “Flower on the Wall” is, like the preceding number, has an atmospheric Gypsy taste quite unlike anything served up by other performers on the scene. The continued lyrical strengths of the duo’s material continue with “Sasha on the Carousel” – Humphrey alternates vocals with McKeown and they once again strike an ideal musical balance that never risks self indulgence. The specific qualities of the songwriting here are quite remarkable and evocative while never seeming to strain for effect. The intimate qualities of the album grow even more so with the song “Your Secret’s Safe” and the conspiratorial tinge to the song is further reinforced by the vocal duet they take here rather than trading off verses and lines as before. Another quality returning is the same near-subterranean slink in the musical arrangement. The album’s penultimate song, “Madness”, traffics a little in lyrical clichés, but the musical and vocal arrangement utterly redeems those excesses. Humphrey and McKeown are astonishingly natural vocal and songwriting partners – the latter quality would always be apparent so long as the interpreter were qualified, but even a cursory listen to their interplay on this album will assure any newcomer why they began recording albums. Tapestry of Shadows is a fantastic effort and reinforces the duo’s abiding skills.