![]() ![]() I’d go see him at the Vanguard or the Blue Note whenever he played in town. (All of mine were dead.) We mainly shared books, actually, and he’d write me postcards from wherever he was on tour. We met on the sidewalk when I was really young (we were neighbors), and he became like a god-grandfather. How did he influence your music and life? Did he ever give you constructive criticism on your music?Įliza Callahan: Jim was just a very special presence. NT: It sounds like one of the most supportive figures in Eliza’s life was Jim Hall. We didn’t set out to write an album about that. JS: The songs have specific stories or are their own specific things, but those feelings of change, uncertainty, and transition… that is something we were both experiencing when we wrote the album, so that energy was a general sweeping thing that seemed to just naturally surface in a lot of the songs. What were some of these general changes? Were some of these specific changes? What “new patterns took hold,” and what old patterns faded away? Did you try to hold onto any old patterns? Were you ultimately able to come to terms with all these changes? NT: You and Jack have said you wrote Like New during a time of change, uncertainty, and transition. They will be all playing the album as we tour it. Maurice has played live with us for two years. ![]() (He also recorded the first two tracks we released). Jack Staffen: Max played drums on the album, as did Sam Glick, who plays bass in the band. Northern Transmissions: Were Jack + Eliza players Max Friedberg or Maurice Marion involved in Like New? Will they join you when you tour behind the new album? Northern Transmissions shot a few questions at Staffen and Callahan. Like New is an album about beginnings and endings and continues in the vein of Jack + Eliza’s sunny psych-pop. And most importantly, they still supply a well-needed burst of something absolutely beautiful.For years, Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan have released music together simply as Jack + Eliza, but the Brooklyn duo is back with a new project called Purr and a brand new album appropriately titled Like New, out February 21 on ANTI. While the tracks on the album can’t necessarily be played in one sitting, they still feel genuine and played by two people who are clearly passionate about what they do. I’m always such a sucker for a good nostalgia inducing track, and the fact that with Gentle Warnings I get an entire album filled with them makes me incredibly grateful, even though at times that wish wasn’t exactly what I expected. I’m so glad they included bonus track “White Satin,” and judging by it’s intricate, yet somehow simple instrumentation, it’s definitely one of the best tracks the duo has ever done. However, what the album lacks in dimension definitely makes up for in emotion, considering the absolutely gorgeous melancholy feeling that practically swallows up the album. I found myself repeatedly wishing to hear more of their own voices isolated from each other in order to further understand the magic of how they become intertwined so well, and the fact that this just wasn’t available made Gentle Warnings lose just a little bit of dimension. However, at times, the constant harmonized vocals can start to get draining after a while, and tracks like “Simple Strait” and “On Again” become nothing more than filler, no matter how gorgeous the instrumentation. The vintage, almost far away feeling to the instrumentals and the pure, raw emotion presented in the harmonized vocals create a euphoric experience that begs to be replayed over and over again. Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan seem to really understand how their voices mesh together, and no other tracks seem to boast that than “Secrets” and “Hold The Line,” two of their first singles. “Diamonds” brings new meaning to the word sweet, and it’s playful lyrics and delicate vocals never seem rushed or out of tune with each other, which is incredibly important, especially in a group of two whose debut album is exclusively harmonized. However, in Gentle Warnings, they take a more minimal approach to the same sort of faded, colorful sound and the stripped down, harmony filled tracks become more precious as a result. Since then, they have been expanding their hazy, nostalgic dream pop into a full length album, and while it (and they) may seem small at the moment, it’s definitely worth the listen – not only for the lucid, beautiful sounds, but as well as the overall journey into a sun-bleached world that seems more simple and forgiving.įrom the first track “One Too Far,” it’s clear that the duo derives most of their inspiration from 1960’s psychedelia, which explains their fascination with groups like The Mamas and The Papas and The Beach Boys. Indie songwriting duo Jack + Eliza have continuously had my attention since the release of their mesmerizing single “Secrets,” which was posted to the site last year.
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