Poor lyrics dampen CD

Appeared in The Daily Collegian on March 5th, 2008.

Soft as the warm mist from the waters of Portland on a summer evening, A Weather integrates boy-girl vocals with tranquil sounds on their debut album, "Cove."

The members of A Weather are relative newcomers to music making. Though last year, the band did release a two-track EP, which was also recorded through its current label. Despite their short repertoire, A Weather has shared the stage with Saddle Creek Records' heavyweight Bright Eyes and other notable bands in their hometown of Portland.

Aaron Gerber (lead vocals) and counterpart, Sarah Winchester (secondary vocals and percussion) serve as A Weather's primary contributors on the instrumentally-hushed album. Both Gerber and Winchester plant fragility in their hushed voices, while managing to keep vocal restraint. Gerber has a monotonous voice that is similar to Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, while on the other side of the vocal paradigm, Winchester sings emotively with her alto voice that is comparable to Stereolab's Lætitia Sadier.

As Gerber carries the harmonies on the nine-track LP, Winchester blends her voice exceptionally well with Gerber's. She softens his stagnant voice, elevating the overall product to a more dynamic and textured sound. Winchester's dulcet vocals do get ample exposure on "Cove," but she is well-deserving of some ballads of her own.

Accompanying the soft vocals scattered throughout "Cove" is equally soft instrumentation. The organs, strings and percussion that comprise the majority of the music on this album are merely overtones for the most part. With their chosen style, the lyricism is extra articulated and warmly layered.

"Cove" is a sparse and uncomplicated effort with slow tempo melodies. The meandering guitars and minimal percussions (which only consist of Winchester using an upturned bass drum, a snare and a cymbal) on songs like the dark "Spiders, Snakes" and the enlightening highlight track, "It's Good To Know" are quietly reflective, which leaves between time for dreamy thoughts and imagery.

In "Hanging Towers of Baltimore," the band crafted a song that closely resembles the style of early Rilo Kiley, with the drums of Winchester and a twangy guitar carrying the tune. Here, the instruments play just as large a part as the singers. The instruments become increasingly emphasized, but are ultimately still pinned down to prevent the track's quiet vocals being drowned out.

While listening to "Cove," a pronounced sense of anticipation builds throughout, leaving one yearning for something more daring or startling to arise. Unfortunately on "Cove," this is a rare find. Its lack charisma is A Weather's most glaring drawback. With alarming regularity, filler tracks on the album, like "Pilot's Arrow," are daunting with their dull guitar riffs and snoozing refrains.

Ultimately, "Cove" is a safe album, troubled by its bleak arrangements to lack of variation. "Cove" will underwhelm you if you're a folk fan with songs like "Small Potato" - teenage love songs about ultimatums just don't make the cut with lyrics like "If I can't have this forever I don't want it at all." A Weather's lyrics are often mind-numbing, which is why it falters as a singer-songwriter album.

A Weather sticks to a particular folk-pop inspired sound but happens to fall short of delivering anything life changing due to its uninspiring lyrics. The band may own its own sound, but "Cove" is not a release that will be leaving memorable impressions.