The Audio Perv

The musical evolution of U.K. sibling trio The Staves — Emily, Jessica and Camilla — has been a slow, steady process; an adventure that began in the stew of family car journeys, sing-alongs and squabbles over the stereo, and immersed in the music of artists like Feist, Fleet Foxes, Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, and Motown. “There was always music in the house and we always sang,” Jessica remembers. “Mum and Dad weren’t professional musicians or anything but they were always into music and would sing, and play both the guitar and piano. Lots of harmonies.”

Legendary producers Glyn and Ethan Johns (whose combined credits include the likes of The Rolling Stones, Joan Armatrading, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon, and Laura Marling to name but a few) found the sisters’ talents so compelling that they both independently tracked the band down. The Staves’ debut album, due for release in late 2012, will be the first record on which father and son have shared production credits.

The Staves’ music is songwriting as striking as it is exquisite, a melding of still, bright English folk and sublime West Coast pop. But undeniably, it’s the vocal arrangements that mark them out, a mingling of dusky sweetness and high, beaming radiance. For the listener, this Mexico EP comprises three songs that offer a mere taste of these young ladies’ extraordinary talents, and a promise of what is yet to come.

Performed live, their music is capable of plunging an audience into silence, and capturing The Staves’ harmonies in a hushed room is an experience in itself.

“MEXICO” EP
Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/the-staves/sets/the-staves-mexico-ep/
Tracklisting: Mexico / Icarus / I Try
Released on Atlantic Records

The Guardian names The Staves as one of their 2012 pop picks – see video interview:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2012/jan/03/staves-critics-pop-picks-2012-video

U.S. TOUR WITH THE CIVIL WARS THIS JANUARY
January
10 Germantown, TN Germantown Performing Arts Centre
12 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
13 Louisville, KY Brown Theatre
14 Covington, KY Madison Theater
15 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
17 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
18 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
19 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre
20 Houston, TX Cullen Theater
21 Dallas, TX House of Blues

For more info, visit www.thestaves.com.