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Dec 21, 2010In other hands, the Rogers' stylistic choices and throwback recording methods-to say nothing of a seemingly bottomless closet of vintage dresses--could seem annoyingly quirky or self-conscious. Instead, it just sounds timeless.
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Dec 14, 2010Recorded with polish and pluck at Nashville's Blackbird Studio, the 11 tracks on their self-titled debut set sound like they could've been captured at any of the family picnics or church services where the Secret Sisters honed their harmonies singing Doc Watson, Everly Brothers and spirituals.
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Mar 7, 2011Just simple, old-fashioned talent and charm.
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Feb 7, 2011That the album is a minor triumph is testament to both the durability of the songs, and the astonishing gifts of the singers.
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UncutFeb 1, 2011The music is pure old-time country though, their pressed-linen harmonies already hailed by Exec Producer T Bone Burnett--on whose label this mostly covers record is released--as among the purest he's ever heard. [Mar 2011, p.92]
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Jan 10, 2011Producer T Bone Burnett had the foresight to infuse the album's recording with vintage microphones and techniques that would have been used on recording sessions half a century ago.
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Dec 14, 2010This type of music has been done before in a different time, same place--the album was recorded in Nashville--but it hasn't been done this well in quite a while.
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Dec 14, 2010My point is, even on their debut, even when giving us about 80 percent cover songs, the Secret Sisters have a recognizable voice.
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Dec 14, 2010Pouring out harmonies on originals ("Tennessee Me"), spunky covers (the kitsch classic "Something Stupid") and sublime traditional ballads ("Do You Love an Apple"), they make you believe, for three minutes or so, the lie that music was purer and better way back when.
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Dec 14, 2010While producer Dave Cobb's arrangements don't self-consciously re-create every element of the musical eras the sisters dig into, they don't add any superfluous modernizations either, keeping the sonic framework just as timeless-sounding as the Secret Sisters' style itself.
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MojoApr 4, 2011Secret Sisters ably court both the family market and those who haunt Past Times stores in search something new. [Mar 2011, p.108]
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Feb 18, 2011It works best when everyone stops worrying about conjuring a chocolate-box version of the past and allows the duo's raw talent to shine through, rather than confining it in a kind of Cath Kidston-designed straitjacket.
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Dec 14, 2010If there's a flaw on this Alabama duo's debut, it's predictability. T-Bone Burnett and Jack White serve as executive producer and mentor, respectively, with Laura and Lydia Rogers putting a sister-act spin on dusty Americana--bet you can hear it already.