In an Emerald interview two weeks ago, TR Kelley and Randy Hamme of The Raventones stressed that the strength of their band is “making a lot of noise for just two people.” Based on their 12-track debut album, “Odd Birds,” the biggest part of their sound is clearly Kelley’s voice. Her versatile vocals provide the backbone for four distinctive styles of music apparent on the recording: soulful ballads, simple folk tunes, trippy psychedelia and hick-ville country twang.
In the trance-like “I Surrender,” Kelley sings of giving in to what is, with lots of passionate “la de da-ing” against a backdrop of Hawaiian strumming and deep-toned drum beats. It makes me picture her draped in velvet while performing at Luna Jazz Club.
“Do You Want Me to Go,” a song about encountering a past love, is awash with sad guitar and piano notes and is almost reminiscent of gazing at someone through a shower of rain.
Yet, the focus of “Odd Birds” is upbeat folk music with a variety of lyrical themes. Often this employs minimal instruments, mostly Kelley on guitar and Hamme on percussion. “Two-Tone Touring Car,” the album’s opener, tells an intricate story about going to Hollywood. “Yellow Moon,” which is about an embrace under the sky at midnight, is catchy yet contemplative, as the name suggests. “Yellow” refers to the happiness of midnight love while “Moon” indicates the calm, stillness of the night. “Unfolding,” a tune about opening up to a new love, uses fast, rolling beats and is accompanied by Kelley, who wails and practically yodels for joy. It made me think of skipping down the street on a warm summer day.
The only downfall of the folksier tunes are their lack of instrumental variation. It makes the songs sound like demos. Although the album sounds finished, it was vaguely reminiscent of The Beatles’ demo tapes from the late 1950s/early 1960s on Anthology 1. The most intriguing track is “Hush,” a melange of strings, percussion and a low twang sound with lyrics about being left with nothing to say. The music and vocals are mostly slow, but they speed up once in a while to evoke a desperate feeling.
“Odd Birds” includes one instrumental jam and one interlude — both mix up the album and provide a well-planned, artistic quality. The jam, “Dynamix,” is an articulated, baritone guitar/drum duo which starts out steady and slowly grows, making you want to bounce your head and eventually jump up and down. “Blue Interlude” gets creative with a harmonica, banjo, wailing voices, sounds of a train passing and frogs croaking.
Despite a few flaws, “Odd Birds” is a winner for folk fans everywhere. The only other noticeable problem is that most of the album’s lyrics are indecipherable because Kelley often tapers off into extensive ad-libs. Luckily, they are printed inside the CD cover. Regardless, this album is worth picking up for its variety, evident talent and songs to get lost in.