Everything We Carry

We first heard Wren Cove when we shared a gig at Joy Gallery on West Main. They played first and we asked Melissa to sit in with us for our slot. That was three years ago and we’ve heard them many times since. If they don’t have a gig the same night as us Melissa has become a regular in our band.

For a duo Wren Cove provides an incredibly wide pallette of dreamy soundscapes. Andrew’s almost incessant strumming (I am partial to that quality in my own playing) is the foundation of the duo and Melissa’s cello is the “lead singer” as Andrew himself says.

Writing for City, Patrick Hoskin drops astute references to Arthur Russell and Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” in his review of the duo’s new cd, “Movement.” Wren Cove built many of the tracks on their new record around the ancient drum machines shown in the photo above. We have one of them, a Rythmn Ace. It still works even though we’ve jammed it a few times pushing two buttons at once for “Mambo/Slow Rock” or “Samba/Beguine.”. Wren Cove pushes stretches this idea further by manipulating the sound of the drum machine and then having real drummers play on top. This widens the picture frame and can sound like parts stumbling in different directions which only makes it a more compelling listen.

Songs like “Raga in Dm,”Wills,” “Everything We Carry” and especially “Nocturne” with Andrew’s gorgeous piano just sweep us away.

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