Fresh-faced freak-folk from a local quintet. Turn a casual ear toward it, and you can imagine Laura Viers sitting in at a drum circle that’s just setting up. But the accordion takes hold just when the toy piano’s gone as far as it can, and in likewise fashion, this act frequently pulls off nimble arrangements. Sparse instrumentation joins voices still on the learning curve to shape tracks that, while not everyone’s cup of tea, are confident and diverse. Maybe they’re too new at the game to be afraid that they’re playing something perilously close to exuberant clatter in 4/4 time. Or perhaps A Mourning Rain simply is making good use of the spirituality that provides them with sturdy roots and informs their lyrical direction. “For the Humble One” and “Zack’s Song” exemplify demo/snippet songwriting they’ll hopefully grow beyond (soon, please). But the closing pairing of “Mercury Column” and “Filthy Rags” shows these kids can build momentum and earn repeated listening amid deceptively simple, lo-fi sweetening.
This article appears in April 28, 2010.
