The Cave Singers — Welcome Joy

Making enjoyable but uncluttered music is no easy feat. More often than not, simplicity has the tendency to lead to a boring listening experience. Seattle's Cave Singers have stumbled upon a balance of sparseness and melody that few bands have the patience to find with their second full-length.

Black Mountain's scent is all over Welcome Joy, though it's barely detectable. The album was recorded in Vancouver and produced by Colin Stewart, who sat behind the boards for the classic rock quintet's In The Future. Black Mountain/Lightning Dust's Amber Webber and Ashley Webber, her sister and ex-of The Organ, were along for the ride as well. Though their contributions were minor, they were certainly integral.

On the whole, Welcome Joy would best be described as folk, but it's more a spectrum of styles than a signature sound. The Cave Singers touch on the work of Octoberman, Portastatic and Blood Meridian, and on "Shine" and "At The Cut" they haul out some guitar riffs and bass lines that would make Scotland's Sons And Daughters proud.

Acting as the backbone for every song on this disc are simple, repeating, guitar-plucked sequences of notes that provide Welcome Joy with a uniqueness and ease that'll ensure listening to The Cave Singers is never a chore.

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