If the present moment feels overwhelming, two new covers by Durham artists deliver a reprieve—slow, stripped-down, and aching— for the end of the week.
First up: Skylar Gudasz and Libby Rodenbough collaborate on a cover of the folk classic, “Wild Mountain Thyme.” Like many traditional folk ballads, this one has a winding Scottish-Irish lineage and a soft invitation about love and land at its core; in this case, the appeal, Will you go, lassie, go?
Gudasz and Rodenbough both released albums this year: Cinema for Gudasz in March, and Spectacle of Love for Rodenbough in July. While they’ve collaborated before in the ever-shifting configurations of Triangle bands, this stripped-down, searching song beautifully showcases their vocal power as a duo. It was released September 25 via Sleepy Cat Records on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going to the Durham-based environmental and racial justice organization the Earthseed Land Collective.
“We wanted to release something into the world that brought us tender joy to benefit a cause we both believe in,” Gudasz says.
Earlier today, the duo released a video to accompany the music. That video, which looks like an 18th-century painting come to life, features footage of a flickering lightening storm over the Atlantic Ocean. It was filmed by the Durham bassist Casey Toll and, in both its simplicity and enduring, elusive power, perfectly mirrors the tension of the song.
Speaking of harmonies, Mountain Man also released a single last week: “Single Gifts,” a cover of a Shaker hymn that dates back to 1848. It follows a year of other thoughtfully-produced covers—which include John Denver, Wilco, and Kacey Musgraves—and extolls the virtues of the unornamented life with precise, breathless magic.
“‘Simple Gifts’ is one of those incredible songs that transforms you while you sing it,” the band said in a press release. “It’s like an incantation, and it was a joy to record.”
Contact deputy arts and culture editor Sarah Edwards at [email protected]
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