Half sisters Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche are both veteran songwriters as well as second-generation musicians. Songs in the Dark, their first musical collaboration, is an exploration of the creepy side of lullabies.
The Wainwright Sisters' voices blend together perfectly, and the melodies here are calming — almost too much so. (Don't listen to this while driving; Do not operate heavy machinery while Songs in the Dark is on; etc.)
A close listen to the lyrics, though, reveals the darker side of bedtime stories. Narratives of poverty, frustration and hardship are the order of the evening here, along with moments of bloody horror, like the English murder ballad "Long Lankin."
Buy this for a new parent, sure, but tell them to play it low at bedtime. The melodies might be for rocking infants to sleep, but the lyrics are full of the fears and stresses of that tend to crop up after midnight.
(MapleMusic)The Wainwright Sisters' voices blend together perfectly, and the melodies here are calming — almost too much so. (Don't listen to this while driving; Do not operate heavy machinery while Songs in the Dark is on; etc.)
A close listen to the lyrics, though, reveals the darker side of bedtime stories. Narratives of poverty, frustration and hardship are the order of the evening here, along with moments of bloody horror, like the English murder ballad "Long Lankin."
Buy this for a new parent, sure, but tell them to play it low at bedtime. The melodies might be for rocking infants to sleep, but the lyrics are full of the fears and stresses of that tend to crop up after midnight.
