The Wrights are husband and wife team Adam and Shannon Wright of Nashville. The duo plays a brand of classic country that sticks to the genre's bluesy Americana roots, with minimal production, traditional instrumentation, and soulful vocals. The couple's latest release, In the Summertime, is a collection of folky country covers of songs by roots artists both classic (Lead Belly) and contemporary (Tim Carroll). Even at first listen, there is a simple sense of beauty in the record's nostalgia and intimacy in the sparse self-production.
"The plan/agenda was to lock ourselves in a room for seven days with some studio gear and be creative," Shannon says. "We wanted live takes of some songs we loved and we wanted to take a subtle approach with them. We started off with 21 and ended up with 10 that sounded like an album to us. Some we planned on doing and some just popped up that week."
As such, the songs seem to come naturally. The soulful harmonies Adam and Shannon sing on "In the Summertime" are utterly gorgeous. The duo accompanies itself simply with a quiet, acoustic guitar, leaving the vocals upfront and unadorned. The effect is a friendly and inviting sound with plenty of heart.
Adam and Shannon's voices compliment each other beautifully. Tracks like "I'd Have to Be Crazy" are throwbacks to the time of Johnny and June Cash-style feel-good duets — a classic country staple lost amid today's flurry of big market popular country. In the liner notes for "I'd Have to Be Crazy," Shannon writes, "When Adam and I first met, we listened to Willie Nelson's Sound in Your Mind album all the time. This was one of our favorites from that record. I love Adam's vocals on this." The true-love background of the song only furthers the warmth and nostalgia of the music and the record, and the honesty behind it all gives it soul.
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