“While the “folk” label certainly has plenty of validity on their album Bones & Structure, Edith Judith (a new venture by Chicago experimentalists Katie Ernst and Dustin Laurenzi) incorporate plenty of nods to other genres. Songs like “Heartbreaker” and “Hot Lava” bring in warm synths that imbue the tracks with an understated vaporwave vibe. Then again, the lovely “Sleeping Beast” embraces a more organic approach, with gauzy folk stylings bringing to mind vintage Nick Drake and Laurenzi’s reed swells, adding a breathtaking new dimension before the song crashes into an odd sequence of slashing guitar chords. Elsewhere, “Neon Sign” comes out of nowhere with an intoxicating blend of lo-fi folk and eloquent Beatlesque melodies, adding more and more subgenres to the duo’s stylistic arsenal.
There’s also an almost zen simplicity to some of the music, as in the song “Luna”, which comes across as a sort of minimalist hymn. “The moon is the earth’s only moon,” Ernst sings as the music marches along and gradually builds into a kind of sci-fi variation of dream-pop. The moon obsession turns into a bit of contemplation of the sun on “Flesh & Bone”. “Until there is nothing left for me,” Ernst sings over a simple, engaging guitar figure and Laurenzi’s multitracked saxophones, “Sun will rise, and sun will fall / Oh, the roundness of it all / Until there is nothing left for me.” The song isn’t just gentle rumination; it’s also a beautifully crafted combination of pop songwriting smarts and jazz-oriented inclinations.
Ernst and Laurenzi could very easily keep things simple and predictable and still make an excellent record, but the bits and pieces that make Bones & Structure unique are part of what makes it essential listening. Edith Judith bring so much to the table, but never in a way that distracts from the inherent beauty and sophistication of every song. ” –Chris Ingalls, PopMatters 2022
Megan Burtt has returned with Witness, her first solo album since. The Colorado-based performer, a past Kerrville NewFolk Competition winner who also performed with the all-redhead roots band Gingerbomb, had been working on the project for years, but hit delays with illness and false starts. She really began to unlock new levels in her songwriting when she decided to stop dancing around what she really wanted to say. “I discovered that’s a side of myself I like as a songwriter.,” she says. “It’s become a sensibility that I know how to rest in.”
