Wax Moon
Hello Morning
(596865 Records DK)

A breath of fresh air comes from the banjo and soft sweet harmonies of John Blatchford and Paul Kimball that begin Wax Moon’s Hello Morning. The San Francisco Bay duo have been part of the Indie scene for a bit but have come together here with a full album. They have previously released a few EP’s of material together, a few years ago as Wax Moon.

This is a particular jug-bang, loose-folk sound, not everyone’s liking, but this is sure excellent stuff of this genre. The harmonies and the songwriting make all we hear stand out, but let’s not forget the other musicians here; guys like violin player Ryan Avery, acoustic bass player Paolo Gomez, and drummer Jesse Sotelo.

“Mountain Road Girl” is a sweet love song, informed by Avery’s violin up front, there’s a fantastic slide from Blatchford on another pluck-tastic little number, “World of Trash,” and the positively Simon & Garfunkel-like acoustic-trilling sweetly sad “Feather From a Gun.”

I like the keys and muted percussion of the second-to-last tune, “I Wanna Believe You.” With its slinky backbeat and synth-washed backing, this one happens to sound unlike anything else on Hello Morning; I just loved the change-up in production and sound.

Only nine songs in, and we are done with Hello Morning with “Keep On Walking,” a mid-tempo plucked Dobro/electric/acoustic mix with a rolling harmony and an equally rolling catchy beat. It’s a great way to end our stay with Wax Moon.