{|Dead & Born & Grown|}, the debut album from Watford, England-based sisters {|Emily|}, {|Jessica|}, and {|Camilla Staveley-Taylor|}, arrives on the heels of their well-received EPs {|Mexico|} and {|The Motherlode|}. The trio's first full-length outi... Read more

{|Dead & Born & Grown|}, the debut album from Watford, England-based sisters {|Emily|}, {|Jessica|}, and {|Camilla Staveley-Taylor|}, arrives on the heels of their well-received EPs {|Mexico|} and {|The Motherlode|}. The trio's first full-length outing, which was produced by {|Glyn|} and {|Ethan Johns|} and includes material from both of the aforementioned EPs, pairs the evocative British folk of {|Laura Marling|} and {|Sandy Denny|} with the rustic Americana of {|the Wailin' Jennys|} and {|Gillian Welch|}. {|Dead & Born & Grown|} leans harder on the latter, and if the siblings' measured yet undeniably English phrasing weren't so apparent, it would be easy to mistake them for {|Gram Parsons|}/{|Joni Mitchell|}-loving, Laurel Canyon songbirds instead of pub-bred, early-twentysomething lasses from the home counties. Opener Wisely & Slow sets the table with a nearly two-minute, a cappella intro that shows off the siblings' considerable pipes. What follows is a relatively calm, collected, and breezy set of 21st century folk songs that prefers subtlety over novelty; the leaf-strewn, babbling brook to {|Mumford & Sons|}' relentlessly stormy ocean. Clear, confident, and classy, the {|Staves|} (along with their producers) know that their ability to harmonize (or just sing in perfect, familial unison) is their calling card, and the instrumentation is calibrated according to that knowledge, allowing their vocals to sit fairly high in the mix, which gives stand-out cuts like Winter Trees, The Motherlode, and the lovely, and surprisingly timeless-sounding title track, a genuine warmth, as well as an air of real intimacy that stands in stark contrast to many of their contemporaries. ~ James Christopher Monger Less