Bell Horses

Though iTunes may categorize this band as "easy listening," don't lump them into the same category as Sade or Kenny G just yet. This debut album from duo Xian Hawkins and Jenny Owen Youngs is a beautiful stroll through a balanced mix of female and male vocals, as well as modern instrumentation. But as any stroll does, the album has quick turns, where it takes on a rock overtone to keep things interesting. The duo enlisted the help from Alberta Cross's Alexander Ericson, the Antlers' Michael Lerner and string instrumentalist Eve Boltax. In just eight songs, it's soothingly poetic yet captures the ears. Often, it's hard to decipher Young's lyrics, and they could have done a little less with the computerized sounds, but those problems are washed over in comparison to the warm dual vocals in "Small Hours," guitar in "Billowing" and the mixtape-worthy ten minutes of "The Comb" and "Photograph." Everlasting and graceful, this album will soften any hard edges one's iTunes might have.