(LP) Maybel - Gathering

Montreal folk four-piece Maybel — a group that financed their debut LP Gathering, in part, by selling homemade knitted hats —  have delivered a fittingly cozy collection of 10 vocally-focused, jangly country tracks, recorded over the span of only five days, that reflect an untold softer perspective of their hardened wintry hometown.

Inspired by Trio, the 1987 collaboration between Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, the band's three-part harmonies and decadent lap steel hearken back to a simpler time — before "gatherings" were wiped from daily existence and solitude became our new normal. 

The record's subdued palettes offer buoyant comfort from the get-go and create a nostalgic, calming portrait of home. Standout tracks "Bird Song," "Two Left Feet, Alright," "Bliss in Solitude" and "Winter City" represent the group in their purest form, balancing lushly produced, sleepy downtempo ballads backed by resounding bass with an equal offering of upbeat art-folk-tinged stompers. - Exclaim! Mag.