The Sieve & The Saddle – Self Titled
self release
songs-7 time-26:00
This Coachella, California based duo members are Morgan Alise James on vocals and Johnny Carmona on guitars. They take an approach that could be called a modern day version of Les Paul & Mary Ford as they multi-layer vocals and guitars. The liner notes and web site provide no information on additional musicians as there are also drums and occasional keyboards. I suppose their music were to be categorized it falls somewhere around alternative rock with maybe more of a pop bent. Morgan’s vocalizations seem to harken back to classic female rockers like Pat Benatar. Johnny layers his guitars in such a manner that at times you are not sure if it’s guitars or keyboards.
The title song introduces their approach and Morgan’s sure fire voice. It features guitars as well as some keyboards. “Big Bold Lie” has a super catchy riff accentuated by hand claps and guitars galore. Acoustic and electric guitars are featured in “Here Is Gone”. Johnny delivers a nicely done distorted guitar solo. “Raven” follows with memorable guitar riffing.
Things slow down a bit on “Long Way Down”. A way neat fuzz bass kicks off “Royal Affair” leading into a solid beat. Their country side shows up on “Wear It Twice” with acoustic and electric guitars.
All the songs here are written by the two along with producer Will Sturgeon. The lyrics are well written, but tend to fly by and at times intertwine with the production. A more attentive sit down will most likely reveal the creativity in the narratives. The music itself contains well constructed melodies within Will Sturgeon’s wall of sound production values.
Future more lengthy recordings will give the duo a chance to stretch out and broaden their musical vision. For the time being this is a worthy modern rock presentation.
