07.28.08 Tunejar
Mia and Jonah infuse the American folk tradition with their authentic story-telling and unassuming performance style. Lyrically intimate and melodically poignant, Mia and Jonah's blend of temperate guitar, harmonica, and drums recalls the likes of Iron & Wine, Devendra Banhart, Jana Hunter, and M. Ward.
Their affecting sound places you among a circle of close friends watching the sunset on a porch in the country side or plays as a soundtrack to a lonesome traveler's road trip.
With the release of their sophomore album "Rooms For Adelaide", the Oakland-based Mia and Jonah explore themes of heartbreak, disappointment, and perseverance in the face of adversity. Their lyrics find the perfect balance between stark reality and dreamy tales of woe. Sensitive, touching and soulful, Mia and Jonah offer their hearts in their hands. Their music seems far removed from sprawling malls and sky-high banks in concrete mega-cities. It is born out of internal turmoil that becomes beautiful enough in hindsight to create the melancholy melodies that can be heard on the album.
Mia's gentle smoky vibrato sings the story of a lost soul from a small-town in "Adelaide". With "Dance" Mia and Jonah take you by the hand, twirl you around and gently urge you to "Dance so madly, you shake it off your back". "Rooms" is a lushly textured duet with ethereal vocals, graceful guitar, and booming base, against a backdrop of haunting drums.
Sweetly sorrowful and lushly orchestrated, Mia and Jonah are unassuming and express thier innermost experiences simply and purely. Genuine, timeless and telling.
- Anna Chigo
06.16.08 Glide Magazine Interview by Katie Cook
One late spring day during my sophomore year of college, four or five months after my grandma passed away from a not-so-lengthy bout with lung cancer, I walked out of the English building and onto the quad. At the base of the concrete stairs, I saw a pile of pink dogwood blossoms shed by the nearby trees intermixed with a plentiful smattering of cigarette butts. I had been living in a hyperaware state for quite some time by then, but the juxtaposition of the ugly and the beautiful, sitting there on the ground, stunned me.
That image stuck with me for over eight years, and I'd always wondered how I'd make sense of it, what I'd do with that piercing visual.
Only a few months ago, I was at a friend's house for dinner, and she had Pandora radio playing out of her computer speakers while she cooked. I was in the middle of chitchatting in the kitchen when a song made me rudely, inexplicably pause in the middle of conversation. It was "Smile" by Mia and Jonah, a song I'd never heard by a duo of which I'd never heard. Like the music nerd I am, I asked my friend for a piece of paper and pen so I could quickly get down all the pertinent information.
Soon after that night, I had both albums by Mia and Jonah, the original Shine I that features that first introduction, "Smile," and the 2008 release, Rooms for Adelaide. Both are superb executions of modern folk music, melodies alternating between Mia's soulful rasp and Jonah's grounded voice with airy guitar and welcome harmonica cameos.
At first I had a difficult time qualifying how I felt about this music; my mind kept roaming to my memory's tucked-away image of the petals and the cigarette butts, particularly when listening to Rooms. However, the words that I needed to connect this idea to these sounds escaped me.
I had fledgling, solely visceral notions about the difference in tone of the two albums, but Mia explained to me: "Rooms and Shine I are so different from each other to us. They are like chapters of our lives. Shine I has this innocent, playful quality to it. Jonah and I just met. We were so deep in love. Feeling that new magic that happens when we see that we can put seeds into the ground and grow a rose. Rooms has the mark of seasons, stormy weather, and struggle of keeping those roses alive all over it. Believing that a dead flower will come to life again in the spring."
The duo went on to elucidate that the album's title girl, Adelaide, "is a character that has suffered huge, hard knocks. Still there is hope in the hand of a loved one, beauty in the sad struggle, and a fire that refuses to quit burning despite the rain." For me, the beauty in the sad struggle symbolically sat at the base of those concrete steps eight years ago, rosy and black, waiting to be understood.
These insights into the music helped me make an important connection: the dichotomies inherent in life are the essence of what it's all about. They aren't ugly or beautiful; they are both simultaneously. In "Dance," the two encourage listeners to dance despite the creeping cold. In "3 Stories High," they remind of "angels cloaked in disguises." And in "Smile," they advise "to live your life and stop trying so hard to understand it." Through their music, Mia and Jonah dissect the nature of existing and honor life, especially its tumultuous weather and confusing times.
I hope I can always do the same.
They said it:
"If a singer sings only four notes, and there is soul in each one, oh my God, I am a life long fan. What is soul? Can't say exactly. It just is. And I love it. I hope that my voice/songs are an echo of my soul." (Mia)
"I am touched by media that taps into a vibration that is beyond thought and/or conceptual belief. At best, a song will present itself without too much thought, so my job is to be present enough to let it happen." (Jonah)
-Katie Cook
05.09.08 Eugene Weekly
Dark Waters Ahead
It's hard to know what to write about groups that have been critically compared to other really famous and beloved acts. Mia and Jonah pose this problem in spades. I almost don't want to say which bands other writers think this Bay Area duo sounds like, or who their guitar and upright bassist played with in the recent past; those tidbits are probably best left to the Internet savvy. What I will say is that Mia and Jonah's second full-length album has an appealingly live, folky feel to it, spontaneously emotional yet heavy with intentional musical decisions. Both lead vocalists deliver this collection of painfully human stories without burdening their songs with distracting production or indulgent instrumentation. If you care to devote your listening energy to simple harmonies saturated in serious poetic musings, Mia and Jonah have a cache of material that will delight you. Those seeking a more immediately visceral experience may struggle through the quiet intensity their fans have come to appreciate.
Rooms for Adelaide opens with a healthy dose of Mia Mustari's unapologetic alto on the disturbingly catchy track "3 Stories High." After exploring this impressionistic slice of urban despair, track two takes listeners through the musings of a lover who has sacrificed self-love for longing on the beautiful ballad "Wish." And so it goes, all the way through Rooms; relentlessly intimate yet musically soothing enough to keep you from resisting the pain. If there is a "hit" on this album (and I don't use that word with any particular value attached to it) it is probably "Junkyard Dog," a raunchy little number about life on the down and out, likely to stir audiences from the magical trance induced only by those special performers who create what they live and live what they create.
— Adrienne van der Valk
05.09.08 The Register Guard
On “Silver Moon,” Mia Mustari’s vulnerable vocals approach those of the haunting and evocative Margo Timmins from Cowboy Junkies.
Because the closest the Junkies will get to the Northwest this summer is the Southwest, maybe you’ll want instead to get your simmering, sad Americana from an up-and-coming folk duo from the San Francisco Bay Area: Mia and Jonah.
-Serena Markstrom
05.07.08 North Bay Bohemian
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
Two of Hearts
Rooms for Adelaide, the new album by folksy Oakland duo Mia and Jonah, is an early candidate for one of those year-end "Best Music You Never Heard in 2008"¯ lists. "Three Stories High,"¯ which, like Lucinda Williams "Six Blocks Away," kicks off a mostly sad album with jubilant love and worldly reverence, sounds like a made-inheaven coupling of Martha Wainwright and Iron & Wine's Sam Beam. An earthy blues inflects but never overtakes their voices, and the music benefits from a very roomy, natural feel - a snare drum tousled with metal brushes, a subdued upright bass, a quiet electric guitar chunking intermittently.
-Gabe Meline
05.04.08 Music Morsels
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
This Oakland based singer/songwriter duo create mesmerizing music, blending their diverse vocal styles in haunting, soul-tugging harmony. Jonah is a midground between Sting and Cat Stevens, while Mia channels Bonnie Raitt through a gritty wail ala Janis. Their lyrics are heartfelt and intelligent, augmented by edgy, rootsy blues folk sprinkled with enough instrumental prowess to make you notice that as well. A delectable sophomore effort.
- Mark Waterbury
04.29.08 Nascent Mag
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
Americana tag team Mia and Jonah may be the musical equivalent of mac and cheese: Just as hearty helpings of the comfort food offer a simple but soothing cure for empty stomachs, the spare, commiserative melodies composing the Oakland duo’s second full-length, Rooms for Adelaide, transpire as the recipe to fill empty souls.
In finest folk tradition, the twosome's lush harmonies and minimalist guitar, bass and drums instrumentation (with the occasional dobro and harmonica squeal) take a backseat to quaking vocal delivery and consoling lyrics that show empathy for tales of woe. Mia's ruddy growl naturally resonates with hard luck cases on rollicking opener "3 Stories High," while Jonah's countrified drawl constructs an unconditional beacon of hope on "Dance" (And even when the bottom feels like it's dropping out in the middle of the ocean / Won't you pull close to me?).
The plucks and jangles of Jonah's acoustic guitar capably drive most songs, but the duo also throws in non-folksy stylistic surprises. The demented "Junkyard Dog," which saunters on drummer John Hanes' slack, trash-can beat and Mia's roughneck attitude, channels visionary, experimental booze-blues curmudgeon Tom Waits -- apropos considering guest musicians Seth Ford-Young (bass) and Myles Boisen(electric guitars) have also collaborated with Waits.
Rooms for Adelaide peaks when Mia and Jonah hit lyrical hell on the album's strongest melodies: the bluesy lament "Morning Hymnal," which enmeshes Mia's burdened lyrics (I don't got no head / Got a 50 pound lead weight instead) with Jonah's mournful hum; and "Rooms," a hushed duet reminiscent of Irish troubadour Damien Rices collaborations with Lisa Hannigan, where Mia dwells in vulnerability while coping with life's lingering troubles (Pardon me for smoking this old abandoned cigarette / But I got miles o' trail to squander and not enough time to forget).
With their heartfelt revelations, Mia and Jonah’s complementary musical coupling would make a most welcome guest to any whiskey-soaked pity party. And in troubled times like these, who isn’t in need of a cathartic soiree?
- Julia Cooper
04.06.08 Hybrid Magazine
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
Mia and Jonah keep a fluid country-folk pace rolling through their latest release Rooms For Adelaide. Produced by Mia, Jonah and the duo's guitarist Myles Boisen, the album has Americana spirituals like the track "Morning Hymnals" which features Mia's refined bluesy timbres, and ruminating pastorals like "Dance" caramelizing breezy acoustic guitar strums and languid rhythmic loops played by John Hanes on drums and Seth Ford-Young on upright bass. The lyrics are observations about the world around us, showing the bad and the good without condemning either. The lyrics don't sound preachy but tell it like it is with a casual swagger like in "Dance" with words that tell, "I walked and I walked in the city of sin where coldness is etched in the far away grins/ The singers are chipped but they're sharp as can be/ On the grins of their mouths they will spin and spin you around/ To a tune of all that you want/ Acceptance is paid for by the dimes of your thoughts costing way more than I got."
These are songs that let you be alone with your thoughts. The gentle bluegrass smoke rings of "Adelaide" are reminiscent of Barton Carroll's porch-folk musings, and the hardy tones of "Troubled Mind Blues" are weighed down in deep bluesy-folk textures reminiscent of Shelby Lynne. Though the songs show musical influences in country-folk patinas, there is so much in these songs that are completely etched in Mia and Jonah's penmanship like the comfortable chord changes of "3 Stories High" that cause your heartrate to accelerate along the chorus parts, or the alternating vocal melodies of Mia and Jonah on "Wish." The slinky rhythmic struts of "Junkyard Dog" have a jazz flavoring, and the bucolic country tones of "Angels Down" have a comfortable sway relatable to Tom Waits.
The songs have a simplicity that invites you to sing along with them and emotive grooves that affect your image of the world. Mia and Jonah's songs are about life, the bad and the good. It is like they are speaking in your ear, infiltrating your mind and helping you to see more clearly through the foggy thoughts that hamper your way. Rooms For Adelaide is a personable album that might make the day go by a little easier for you. It's like having a favorite saying written on a plaque that you turn to whenever you need inspiration to pull you through a low point in the day. Mia and Jonah's songs keep you straight when events in the day are pulling you in different directions.
-Susan Frances
02.12.08 The San Francisco Bay Guardian
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
On their 2005 first self-released album, Shine I, Mia Mustari and Jonah Blumstein delved into everything from folk to jazz, holding it all together at the seams with strong indie rock sensibilities. The music relied heavily on drums and upright bass, with softly strummed acoustic guitar playing only a small role. Now a few years later, they present Rooms for Adelaide with a similar smooth pop sound but with a backing band that includes Tom Waits's guitarist Myles Boisen and bassist Seth Ford-Young and Bonnie Raitt's drummer John Hanes. Mustari and Blumstein have successfully sidestepped their coffee shop pop style in favor of a more sophisticated, radio-ready form of folk. The rough edges that once gave the band a homegrown feel are gone, and considering their impending tour in the Midwest, it's clear they are shooting for much more.
When Mustari takes the mic, the sound becomes a hybrid of Norah Jones and Melissa Etheridge. Her deep, jazzy voice works best when backed by Blumstein's, which prompts comparisons to a less somber Elliott Smith. The duo are at their strongest when the harmonies ring out...
- Alex Felsinger
01.11.08 The Daily Vault
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
It never ceases to amaze me how much good music by independent artists is being produced these days. Releasing their music on the internet and performing literally hundreds of times per year have allowed many artists to have their music heard and to at least scratch out a living. Many of these artists write, record, engineer and produce their own material..
Mia & Jonah are quintessential independent artists. Their second album release, Rooms For Adelaide, find them as excellent songwriters, vocalists and in possession of an ability to put together a production that flows well from song to song... all the parts of the album fit together well and lull you into a pleasurable listening experience.
Mia & Jonah describe themselves as an Americana folk-rock band. This self designation is accurate. If their songs were performed with just an acoustic guitar in support, they would be a folk duo. Mia & Jonah, however, take their lyrics and add a rock beat. They put percussion out front with a guitar sound in support and create an interesting blend of musical styles.
The lyrics are Mia & Jonah’s greatest strength. They speak of personal experiences and musings. The lyrics, however, are just a starting point. They provide the listener a jumping-off point to continue the journey on their own.
“3 Stories High” and “Wish” begin the album and are representative of what is to follow. Soft voices, both individually and in tandem, lead the listener onward. The beat provides a good count point to this mellow approach. “Silver Moon” is probably the most striking song contained on the album. It is a love song, but the true meaning dances just beyond the mind’s reach.
Mia & Jonah present music for the mind as well as the ear. You really need to listen to the lyrics, which are included in the packaging, as they tell the story just as well as the music -- like all great folk songs. Overall, this is a wonderfully-crafted album that goes well with a glass of wine, a fireplace and an open mind.
- David Bowling
12.23.07 The Big Take-Over
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
This cute Oakland couple plays and sings a bright but punchy acoustic folk-pop that's completely NPR-ready, and should be featured there soon. For their second LP, following 2005's Shine I, they blend in choice hints of Americana, a little bluegrass-country (the world-weary Neil Young harmonica on "Silver Moon" and "Adelaide"), a little rockabilly (the slinky Junkyard Dog), a little jazz, and even a little '20s blues-gospel (the chain-gang rhythm in the end of "Morning Hymnal"), with a little help again from a few Tom Waits and Bonnie Raitt sidemen on guitar, upright jazzy bass, and tapping drums. Her: darkly romantic, almost husky voice. Him: a lighter tough, a calmer soul. Together: harmonies and quietly poetic souls entwined. How sweetly perky-pretty the product is!
- Jack Rabid
12.20.07 Evolution Of
Media
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Reveiw)
As a music town, Oakland California is better known for the gritty sounds that emit from it’s urban suburban streets, like funk (a la Tower of Power) and rap. Sweetly acoustic Americana is definitely not something I’d expect to hear from an Oakland resident, and yet I’ve been digging the second album by Mia & Jonah who are Oaktown-based and proud of it.
When listening to Rooms For Adelaide, it’s best to keep an open mind because, although the duo (backed by a crack band) create sounds that will instantly remind of bands like Iron & Wine and the Shins, there are enough left turns and curve balls to give one the impression that the two are up to something quite different. The album kicks off with “3 Stories High”, a driving little number that acts as great calling card for things to come: Mia--who sounds like a cross between Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow--blends well with Jonah, whose voice is reminiscent of Elliott Smith’s, to create an interesting harmony fusion. From there the songs range from the waltz-tempo “Morning Hymnal” to the haunting “Rooms”, with each holding distinct pleasures of its own. The arrangements are rhythm-centric without being funky or heavy-handed, economic without coming off like demos, all to the songs’ benefit. “Junkyard Dog” sounds like a Tom Waits song performed by Rickie Lee Jones, but that’s just a point of reference for one of my favorite songs on the album, which also contains a spirited performance by Mia.
Mia & Jonah actually remind me of another duo working similar territory, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion: both camps make idiosyncratic country alt-rock that deserves a wide audience. More to the point, though, Rooms For Adelaide is a fascinating piece of work that gets better and exposes more layers on each listen. If this album is any indication, Mia & Jonah are here to stay….in Oakland. Respect!
Written By: Gina Morris
12.04.07 Performer Magazine
Rooms For Adelaide (Album Reveiw)
It's not easy to follow a great debut with an even greater sophomore effort, but Mia Mustari and Jonah Blumstein are clearly not bothering to reinvent the wheel. Last time out on Shine I, the Oakland duo presented a more stripped-down approach to its often introspective, occasionally whimsical songs. This time around on their latest effort Rooms for Adelaide, Mia and Jonah opt for a more mainstream sound. Songs like "Rooms" and "3 Stories High" could easily fit on the FM dial between David Gray and Jack Johnson. Mustari's voice occasionally hearkens to Pat Benatar, at other times ("Junkyard Dog") it's almost a little Liza Minnelli, with enough vocal strut to knock down a row of trembling men.
"Morning Hymnal" stands out as Blumstein's finest performance. It's perfect for his innately echoic voice, which slides flawlessly into this slogging heat-drenched Southern Gospel-inspired tune, complete with heavy humming. In fact, Jonah's voice is so distant and haunting that it unfortunately tends to get lost against the vocal fortitude of his female counterpart. This is reconciled on "Angels Down" though, as both sets of vocals complement each other nicely and bring back that strange, trippy quality the singers mastered on their debut.
"Adelaide," the album's namesake, drips with emotion from the second Mia's voice enters. The accompaniment is decidedly folkier than anything else in this collection — except for maybe the fabulously romping "Wish" — as soft-rocking guitar strums, a subtle mid-range melody and occasional, minimal harmonica carry Mia's thick, husky voice. The lyrics practically sing themselves: "Light exchange concerning dogs and names / The candle burns the night down to the floor / Adelaide, he craves you to the core."
Rooms for Adelaide is a new direction for the band and, like anything new, it's not perfect. But who needs perfect when there's enough soul in these Rooms to go around? (Self-released)
-Kim Ruehl
09.01.07 Walnotes
Artist Reviews
I had the good fortune of attending a performance at The House of Love Cabaret
by a duo known by their first names, Mia and Jonah. This happened maybe two
or three years ago. It was one of those experiences that stuck with me though.
I signed their mailing list that night and finally had a chance to see them play a full set at Cafe du Nord last year. They were just as brilliant and touching as when I saw them the first time. I met them that night before the show and felt their warmth despite them not knowing who I was.
Recently I decided to see Mia and Jonah play a cafe show in Oakland. It was a tough decision as the Bay Bridge was going to close for the long weekend while I was at the show. As I sat there listening to Mia sing the lines "Stay. Stay. Just stay." I knew I was in the only place I wanted to be that night. Not only because of the aptly timed lyrics (She was singing them at 7:45pm, my last chance to leave to catch the bridge before it closed.) but because there music soothes me. It's calming and warm, like the aural personification of that feeling you get when you walk into your grandparents house.
Since this show a week or so ago I've been meaning to include Mia and Jonah in my Walnotes. They even gave me their two cd's so I could listen and review them. I've done the first part really well. So far I've failed on the second part.
I have to say that the new cd, Rooms for Adelaide, is the best cd I've listened to in awhile. I'll have to write a full review later because so many songs off of it have been lingering in my subconscious for the past week. The song called (Rooms) for example. It is easily a hit. The first track (3 Stories High) is high energy and easy on the ears. It's radio friendly. It's well produced. And man does it get the cd off to the right foot.
Today I want to point you to their
mySpace page so you can check them out for yourself.
http://www.myspace.com/miaandjonah
(Coalminer) is the first song. The duo says they sing Americana/Folk/Rock. That they do. This song is a beautiful, sad tune that Jonah takes the lead on while Mia harmonizes like no other. It reminds me of something Honeymoon Tree might sing.
(Bird on the Wind) is the next song on their page. Mia takes the lead on this one. It's an acoustic tune with Jonah harmonizing this time. It makes me think of James Taylor songs for some reason. Knowing me it's probably the feeling I get while listening to JT (not Justin Timberlake) and Mia and Jonah. "Sometimes love flies, like a bird on the wind. Let it in. Any day the rain could come down and bring a change around."
I've told Mia and Jonah that they remind me of the powerful duo of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan. The way that they can both take lead vocals, even in the same song. And the way that both duos make me feel. One big difference is that Damien has a chip on his shoulder from women screwing him over. Mia and Jonah give the heir of being warm and loving. It's as if Damien wishes he could be like them.
(Sunset in Your Soul) is the third song on their page. "You with whom I feel this love. Wrap yourself around me and fill me up." Jonah opens this song over acoustic guitar. Then Mia and a snare drum come in softly. The rising action leads to the dreamy chorus. I say dreamy but I mean tender. It's something that I found more on their first album than their second. (Sunset in Your Soul) comes from the first album, Shine I. As the song continues on it gets faster and more aggressive before coming right back to a softer landing as the chorus repeats to the end.
(SF Rain) is the fourth and final song on their mySpace page. It starts out a capella with Mia taking the lead. WOW! Mia can sing! I know music but I don't know it well enough to know who to compare her too. She's got that Ani DiFranco curl in her voice. Not to mention a bit of her sass too. It sounds like there's a banjo plucking in the background of this one. The arrangement is perfect for creating a memorable mood. I love this song!
As much as I hate to do it I need to stop my music trail with just Mia and Jonah today. I have a job interview with SF Weekly today, and a quiz in my UNIX class tonight.
I will do my best to do a full Walnotes review of their second album, Rooms for Adelaide, as soon as I can. I swear to you that it deserves heavy rotation on your iPod or cd carrousel.
11.01.07 The ChickenFish
Speaks
Rooms for Adelaide (Album Review)
Mia & Jonah - Rooms for Adelaide - CD
(Mia & Jonah) The music on this release has a contemporary folk flair
that is wonderfully complimented by the male & female vocalist. Mia and
Jonah trade off lead vocals though out the release with the other playing
the support role. There are a few tunes where they share the spotlight and
for the most part all of the tunes shine bright, especially on "Silver
Moon".
I really like Mia's smokey vocal
delivery on many of the tunes. . . One the tune "Junkyard Dog" they
remind me a bit of the early '90s Dayton (and then Austin) band Aunt Beanies
1st Prize Beats.
-- Mite Mutant (2007)
01.01.06 Performer Magazine
Shine I (Album Review)
There's something truly trippy about Mia and Jonah's new album, Shine I. They
go from singing about mustard seeds to the "sunset in [their] soul[s],"
all with intricately simplistic instrumentation that works wonderfully...
The caterwauling in the background during the chorus of "Mustard Seed,"
for example, is infectious, creepy, and brilliant all at the same time...
Their lyrics are riddled with natural imagery, with song titles like "SF Rain" and "Warm Wind." The poetry in their lyrics is poignant and heart-wrenching, with lines like "It's summer time and colder / Than a wounded lover's shoulder," speaking mostly of difficult moments in relationships or imminent change.
By the time the album starts to move halfway through its mist of strange instrumental breaks and luscious, haunting harmonies, suddenly "Bird on the Wind" comes in. Arguably the strongest track on the record, "Bird on the Wind" is a calm, catchy acoustic number featuring nothing but Mia and Jonah's lovely voices, an acoustic guitar, and scant drumbeats.
While their music harkens to other artists by whom they've no doubt been influenced, Mia and Jonah are not the types of musicians who wear their influences on their sleeves. They've taken inspiration from jazz, folk, rock and pop, and made it into their own very distinct, wonderful creation. There's not a low point on Shine I, and each song is full of the type of timeless, intuitive beauty that makes music memorable.
-Kim Ruehl
10.01.05 The Owl Mag
Shine I (Album Review)
With pleasing harmonies, intricate melodies, and easy, flowing tempos, Shine I the debut album from SF-based duo Mia and Jonah, is a graceful, understated collection of mainly acoustic ballads.
The album's strength is in its
exquisitely crafted harmonies. The duo's voices complement each other exceptionally
well. Jonah's smooth, slightly mournful tenor never tries to be too soulful.
Mia's clear, ethereal voice is soft, but she can belt it out when she needs
to. Aside from the occasional harmonica or orchestral arrangement, their voices
are accompanied by little more than an acoustic guitar and a snare drum that
set an echoing, far away tone.
Shine I is essentially a mature, heartfelt balance of lyrics and arrangements,
and truly a pleasure to listen to.
- Molly Corman