It is easy to hate any song that drags on for more than five minutes. Throughout the opening song “Beast” on Christy & Emily’s album, No Rest, I thought I had listened to three tracks minimum. Luckily, this duet was smart enough to slowly shorten their song length as No Rest progresses.
Their music, however, is entrancing. They play with a lot of ‘60s quasi-folk rock with simple trap kit percussion, being struck slowly and rhythmically, a guitar that seems to stay in the background and a slow bass line with some contrasting piano chords bringing forward that peace-lily feel. Also, their vocals are soothing and calm.
Out of nowhere, “Little World” picks up the pace a bit. Still slow moving, the vocals lead the instruments in a round. There is also the first obvious guitar solo in this song, and increased the volume of the vocals is pushed up louder than on the previous tracks. The end of the track seems a little disconnected, though, with maracas and a wind chime/church bells-esque ending transitioning the album from dirty hippie putting a flower into the barrel of a gun to something slightly more modern and experimental (only by maybe three years).
Though the lyrics may be tacky at times, the album overall is inviting. It is very reminiscent of Janis Joplin or Jefferson Airplane with the addition of a few production tricks. Throw on some tie-dye, or a free flowing skirt, light a pipe and keep it easy.
In A Word: Boss
