“I dug myself out from the well to make Closeness, a record about love”, professes Devin Tuel. “When I sat down to begin what would become Closeness I felt that above all, I wanted to make it clear that, while the clock is moving, we can hold onto one another and maybe there will be tears but there will also be laughter.”
Closeness, the fourth LP from Pennsylvania’s Native Harrow, elaborates on the duo’s radiant warmth and timeless nostalgia with the inclusion of new sounds and experiences. The combustible fuzz-driven opener “Shake” gives way to slices of 70s FM groove (“The Dying of Ages” and the desert funk of “If I Could”), 60s art pop (“Even Peace” and the expansive orchestral “Sun Queen”), and the kind of graceful folk (“Smoke Burns”) and folk soul (the compassionate conviction of “Carry On”) the band is best known for. The intricate polyrhythms and grinding Moog synthesizer (“Same Every Time”), the fully realized vintage jazz combo (“Turn Turn”), and the exquisite piano ballad (the penultimate “Feeling Blue”) provide glimpses down previously unexplored streets and find the band stretching out and confidently illuminating their expansive aspirations.
“Uniting the various moods is Tuel’s exquisite voice, at times bringing to mind Laura Nyro or Karen Carpenter in its airy mastery of phrasing”
8/10
AMERICANA ALBUM OF THE MONTH
UNCUT
“elements of 60’s and 70’s pop and soul with Tuel’s voice remaining serene”
MOJO
“classy folk-rock duo flip from artsy 1960’s pop to psychedelic gospel with an enviable elegance”
THE GUARDIAN
