The Danberrys – Give & Receive

This album is way too short, but I don’t mind. I just found out they have two more albums I can peruse and you can bet I will. What I want to know is how bands like this can slip past me. I am diligent if nothing else and if I had had the hint of The Danberrys lurking in the shadows I would have made the jump. Happily. But I didn’t. I am not complaining. I’m just saying.

If there was to be an introduction to the band I am glad it was on a drive. Seems like I listen best when driving. I discovered Zoe Muth on a drive, and Craig Elkins (of Huffamoose fame), and The Beige (bet I got most everyone on that one— you have to trust me, finding The Beige was well worth the drive). For a short time, in fact, I took drives just to listen to music and this in spite of the price of gas. I promised myself, in fact, to listen to whichever album to grace the CD player all the way through. Zoe Muth lasted an entire drive to the Oregon Coast and back— four and a half listens.  

The Danberrys did not last four listens only because the drive was short. The drive to town to pick up a few items and the short drive home. One time through, the last track of Give & Receive fading as I entered the driveway. It was a felicitous ending to the music experience, as I headed into the house to plug it into the stereo system and give it the proper christening— three more listens.  

One wasn’t enough. Although I had listened all the way through, it wasn’t enough. I felt cheated. I did. And there was no reason for it. They gave me 35+ minutes of music— outstanding music, in fact— yet it wasn’t enough. Not hardly enough. For instance, “Don’t Drink the Water.” Five minutes and twenty-four seconds of rhythmic excellence and I wanted at least that much again. The song flowed, the handclaps and rhythm section laid bedrock smooth, the instruments almost undulant, Dorothy Daniel’s voice in perfect pitch, and the bridge a dream. “Lady Belle,” almost trad folk, the sound reminiscent of the Sandy Denny era and a true gem of instrumentation, thanks to the interplay of guitars (Ben DeBerry plays immaculate lead on the acoustic) and the superb bass (and I mean superb!) of Sam Grisman, which I realize is totally unfair to the rest of the musicians on the album. They are absolutely topnotch— Ethan Ballinger (who also produced) on mandolin and a string of other instruments, Christian Sedelmeyer on fiddle. “Receive” folk with the ghost of gospel. “Let Me Go” a perfect example of modern folk and a vehicle for Dorothy Daniel’s resplendent voice, at its best when it is soaring.  

What makes The Danberrys a step above— well, besides their first-rate songwriting, musicianship and cohesiveness— is their diversity. With all of the excellent bands out there, and there are more than a few if you would take the time to do a little research, few drag in as many influences without allowing those influences to dominate. While most artists play rock ‘n’ roll when it is time for rock ‘n’ roll and bluegrass when it’s time to grass out, The Danberrys slide the influence in almost without notice. You find yourself halfway through a song before noticing the gospel riff or the light plucking of the banjo (it is used on only two tracks and then with the best of taste), the song the core and the instruments and influences bolstering that core.

Of course, hearing the music itself never hurts. In the spirit of a video being worth a thousand words, I spare you the time and effort of reading. Keep in mind that these videos are live and not the $100,000 efforts of a Hollywood studio and a $10,000 producer/engineer. Which is not to say that these aren’t watch and listen worthy. Just that the nuances of the studio add so much.

And one from a few years ago.

The Danberrys are a find.  Easily one of the best so far this year.