Lindsey Verrill and Jeff Johnston’s output as Little Mazarn feels intrinsically linked to the outdoors, to the sigh of a drawn-out twilight hour creeping across desolate terrain. Io, the local duo’s second release, unfolds at a glacial pace, eight cavernous songs meeting at the intersection of Appalachia and experimental folk. Anchored by Verrill’s electric banjo fingerpicking and her crystalline vocals, the otherworldly quaver of Johnston’s singing saw whistles in the background, reverberating in the open spaces of Io like a ghost. Meditative opener “Peace Like a River” fantasizes about finding an inner calm over the hypnotic ping of kalimba, while “Vermont,” awash in nostalgia, serves as a love song to places. A funereal cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” cuts to the quick of desperation in the lyrics of the Grammy-garnering hit, and their take on Country Willie Edwards’ “Marfa Lights” feels appropriately sparse, Verrill’s mention of the Texas winds filled in by Johnston’s muted saw. Fleshed out by contributing local musicians Will Johnson, Kendra Kinsey (vocals), Thor Harris (vibraphone, drums), and Ralph White (fiddle, kalimba), Io flutters deftly minimal.
This article appears in May 31 • 2019.