Rachel Baiman – Viv & Riley – Kissing Otherppl
A fairly intimate sounding collaborative recording with the voice up close cradled by banjo & fiddle by the North Carolina-based indie-folk duo Viv & Riley & Chicago-born indie-singer-songwriter Rachel Baiman. It’s a rather short album recorded at the Connecticut home of producer Greg D. Griffith.
There’s a pleasant McGarrigle Sisters type proponent to their performance. Intriguing in a simple way. Good cover songs reinvented, or rather, reinterpreted. The lead-off is “Kissing Other People,” which has its presence, but it’s a cover of Wilco’s “Ashes of American Flags,” which has some fiddle-tapestry in its sawing. Lots of space & atmosphere added to the tight-laced lyrics that leave clichés behind. At times quirky, but its melody is persistent. Not like other folk songs – the women, Vivian Leva (vocals/drums) & Rachel Baiman (electric guitar) add lots of gratification to the music, though despite the title, I didn’t get a sense of radicalism, or contempt. There isn’t a flicker of anger in the vocals. Just a jubilant projection.
The album Kissing Otherppl (Drops Aug 8/Peacedale Records/27:47) – misspelled intentionally — is spare on instrumentation but divided nicely between the female voices & vocalist Riley Calcagno (keyboards), who does a fine job on the warmly sung “Hold On Magnolia” & a cover of an early Joan Armatrading track “Woncha Come On Home.” The trio admits they were curious about these songs (many are covers) & exploration. Recorded through a vintage camcorder, producing some with a lo-fi room mic & they left in some imperfections for character.
Dottie West’s oldie “A Lesson In Leavin’” is brightly colored in banjo with fascinating ‘60s styled vocals absorbed in a modern-day manner. The set is more of a clever vocal showcase than anything else. It’s always pleasant on the ears. This Dottie West song is nowhere near old country, silly, or even commercial. Just an imminently justified cover that’s given new life in 2025. How many of these near-forgotten songs are lying around buried on old albums by decade-old artists that still have lots of fuel in their melodies?
It’s nice when a group like this takes the time to resurrect oldies & stitches them together in a way that you can’t see the threads. None of these songs sounds like covers. And that alone is what makes all of them a wealth of music & surprisingly good.
Highlights – “Kissing Other People,” “Ashes of American Flags,” “Hold On Magnolia,” “Woncha Come On Home,” “A Lesson In Leavin’,” “Born To Lose,” & “Ain’t No Easy Rider.”
CD color image courtesy of Natia Cinco. CD @ https://www.rachelbaiman.com/ & https://www.kissingotherpplband.com/
