The Rusticators

CD – Talking With the Dead

The Rusticators are Abbey Linfert on vocals and Chris Amsler on vocals and instruments. Since they are a duo, they have a spare sound, with their vocals backed only by acoustic guitar and understated electric guitar and piano on some tracks. An occasional guest artist appears on bass.
The songs and vocals are the focus of this folk-based group. Nearly all of the former are harmonized (Pam Russell is a backup vocalist on two of the tracks). This is the type of music you would expect to hear in a coffeehouse, although the songwriting is generally better. The duo wrote all of the thirteen tracks themselves, either together or separately.
The titles reveal some of the subjects of the songs, for example, “Love Covers Over Me” and “Journey to War”. Most are love songs, although some are complex, as these lyrics from the title track show: “Inside my room/You whisper in my head…talking with the dead/And I want you to stay.”
The careful construction of the songs and Amsler’s pristine production makes this a CD both for relaxing and thinking about.
Web site at http://www.isart.com/.

- Dave Howell