The Staves | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Taking a cue from youthful folk revivalists like Laura Marling, Mountain Man, and the Pierces, Watford, Englands the Staves blend the wistful cadences of classic British folk with breezy, Laurel Canyon-era Americana. The trio was formed in 2010 around the talents of sisters Emily (vocals), Jessica (vocals/guitar), and Camilla Staveley-Taylor (vocals/ukulele), who first learned to harmonize by singing along with their parents record collection, dominated by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Emily was only 14 years old when the siblings made their live debut at a neighborhood pubs open-mike night, but they were well received and began appearing on a regular basis. They released their debut EP, Facing West, in 2010, and the same year they performed as backing vocalists on Tom Jones 2010 gospel collection Praise & Blame. The year 2011 produced a pair of EPs, Live at Cecil Sharp House and Mexico, which brought them to the attention of the major labels. The siblings signed with Atlantic Records, and capitalizing on the buzz created by their well-received debuts, they spent the beginning of 2012 supporting acts the Civil Wars and Bon Iver in North America. Arriving later that year, their first full-length outing, Dead & Born & Grown, was produced by Glyn and Ethan Johns. The fall of 2014 saw the release of another EP, Blood I Bled. The title track was a preview of the album If I Was, which was produced by Bon Ivers Justin Vernon and released in February 2015. It landed them in the Top 20 of the Billboard Americana/Folk and Heatseekers Albums charts, and resulted in a tour with Florence and the Machine and an appearance at Glastonbury. The EP Sleeping in a Car followed in 2016, and a year later, Nonesuch issued The Way Is Read, a collaboration with chamber group yMusic that featured both Staves originals and reworked yMusic compositions. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Facing West EP Released: 2010 Tracks: 3 Duration: 05:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Fire (02:51) 2 Mexico (?) 3 Facing West (02:35) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Dead & Born & Grown Released: 2012-11-12 Tracks: 5 Duration: 19:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Icarus (03:30) 2 The Motherlode (04:01) 3 Winter Trees (04:06) 4 Tongue Behind My Teeth (03:31) 5 Dead & Born & Grown (03:55) |
| Dead & Born & Grown : Allmusic album Review : Dead & Born & Grown, the debut album from Watford, England-based sisters Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, arrives on the heels of their well-received EPs Mexico and The Motherlode. The trios first full-length outing, which was produced by Glyn and Ethan Johns and includes material from both of the aforementioned EPs, pairs the evocative British folk of Laura Marling and Sandy Denny with the rustic Americana of the Wailin Jennys and Gillian Welch. Dead & Born & Grown leans harder on the latter, and if the siblings’ measured yet undeniably English phrasing weren’t so apparent, it would be easy to mistake them for Gram Parsons/Joni Mitchell-loving, Laurel Canyon songbirds instead of pub-bred, early-twentysomething lasses from the home counties. Opener "Wisely & Slow" sets the table with a nearly two-minute, a cappella intro that shows off the siblings considerable pipes. What follows is a relatively calm, collected, and breezy set of 21st century folk songs that prefers subtlety over novelty; the leaf-strewn, babbling brook to Mumford & Sons relentlessly stormy ocean. Clear, confident, and classy, the Staves (along with their producers) know that their ability to harmonize (or just sing in perfect, familial unison) is their calling card, and the instrumentation is calibrated according to that knowledge, allowing their vocals to sit fairly high in the mix, which gives stand-out cuts like "Winter Trees," "The Motherlode," and the lovely, and surprisingly timeless-sounding title track, a genuine warmth, as well as an air of real intimacy that stands in stark contrast to many of their contemporaries. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Blood I Bled EP Released: 2014-10-25 Tracks: 3 Duration: 12:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Open (03:23) 2 Blood I Bled (04:06) 3 America (04:52) |
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: If I Was Released: 2015-03-20 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Blood I Bled (04:07) 2 Steady (03:29) 3 No Me, No You, No More (02:46) 4 Let Me Down (04:05) 5 Black & White (02:39) 6 Damn It All (06:26) 7 The Shining (03:38) 8 Dont You Call Me Anymore (02:53) 9 Horizons (02:49) 10 Teeth White (03:40) 11 Make It Holy (04:33) 12 Sadness Dont Own Me (04:41) |
| If I Was : Allmusic album Review : The Staves, a folk-influenced U.K. trio featuring sisters Emily, Jessica, and Camila Staveley-Taylor, made waves with their debut album, 2012s Dead & Born & Grown & Live, which put the emphasis on the siblings vocals, both individually and in harmony, as they performed with spare acoustic arrangements. For their second full-length effort, 2015s If I Was, the Staves have taken a somewhat different approach; with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver producing, the sophomore album keeps one foot in contemporary folk while introducing elements of Americana and soft rock into their formula, all the while highlighting the sisters clear and emotionally powerful singing. If I Was is an album that expands the Staves musical range without smothering the qualities that make them so memorable, and its a step forward that brings out the best in the trio. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Sleeping in a Car Released: 2016-05-13 Tracks: 3 Duration: 10:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Outlaw (02:40) 2 Roses (04:11) 3 Sleeping in a Car (03:37) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: The Way Is Read Released: 2017-11-24 Tracks: 12 Duration: 38:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Hopeless (01:44) 2 Take Me Home (04:47) 3 Trouble on My Mind (03:11) 4 Bladed Stance (01:25) 5 All My Life (04:31) 6 Silent Side (02:27) 7 Year of the Dog (03:15) 8 Courting Is a Pleasure (04:43) 9 All the Times You Prayed (04:45) 10 Appetite (02:44) 11 Sprig of Thyme (02:26) 12 The Way Is Read (02:55) |