Dinner Belles

'The River and the Willow' (album stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Oct 22, 2014

Ontario roots specialists Dinner Belles recently joined Sonic Unyon, and now we've got their first album for their new label. The River and the Willow will be out on October 28, and it's available to stream now on Exclaim.ca.

The album was recorded with Andy Magoffin (Constantines, Great Lake Swimmers) at Cambridge, ON's House of Miracles studio. Some of the band members lived at the studio during the sessions, with some of the final versions coming from live-off-the-floor first takes.

The result is a rustic, organic album. Opener "Back Home (In the Valley)" kicks off the collection with an old-time country flavour, while "I Might Do Everything Wrong" sports church-ready harmonies and honky-tonk piano, and "Wandering Eye" and "No Good" race along at a barn-burning gallop. The band show off their breadth on the stomp-along instrumental "Speed River," while cuts like "Same Mistake" and the title track are gentle and slow-paced.

Hear it all below.

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