Bless You
Label: Absolutely Kosher
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Bless You
At first listen, San Francisco’s The Court and Spark sound strikingly similar to sadcore sentimentalists Low: soaring male/ female vocal harmonies floating atop sparse guitar arrangements. But on its sophomore effort, “Bless You,” the four-piece takes the indie-rock road less traveled, diverting from the lo-fi formula to embrace a more mature and countrified sound reminiscent of Calexico or Palace Brothers. Adding to TC&S’s alt-country cred, the band has enlisted Gene Parsons (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers) to play mandolin and banjo, and to help with vocal harmonies.
On the lanky opener, singer/ guitarist M.C. Taylor’s gravelly, smoky vocals evoke an image of an early Sunday morning drive across the Golden Gate Bridge “To See the Fires” in the deserts of Santa Fe. The hazy trip continues as we drift past the open landscapes of “Rooster Moun-tain,” then park at the “Pearly Gates,” where Taylor invites us to “dance on Heaven’s porch.” The dusty daytrip ends “In a Sugarpine Bed,” as Taylor ex-claims, “I’m wasted, but I’m not looking back.”
This article appears in Dec 5-11, 2001.