Canada's
Good Lovelies are a bright and bubbly folk/pop trio composed of Caroline Brooks Kerrie Ough and
Sue Passmore. They play a variety of instruments between them, mainly guitar, mandolin, accordion, and banjo, but it's their close harmony singing and strong songwriting skills that have made them Juno- (Canada's Grammy equivalent) and Canadian Folk Award-winners. As on previous outings, the tunes on
Let the Rain Fall are played in effervescent arrangements that lean heavily on the sound of the swing bands of the '40s. Canadian scribes have called the trio "folk music's answer to the
Andrews Sisters," and their singing does have the carefree sass that made
the Andrews Sisters stars.
The Lovelies sing about love with a single blue note. Every tune is sunny and upbeat, buoyed along by a sparkling group of studio musicians that make the tunes jump, jive, and wail. They strut their stuff on jubilant songs like "Made for Rain," "Backyard," the sexy ragtime of "Kiss Me in the Kitchen," and "Oh, What a Thing," a two-step tune that sounds like a surefire hit with its honky tonk piano and driving acoustic bassline. The trio's vocals are never less than stellar and add an extra touch of poignant emotion to slower numbers like "Home," "Every Little Thing," and "Best I Know," with its vaguely bossa nova rhythm. They show off their Canadian roots on "Mrs. T," the story of an old woman from Montreal looking back on a wonderful life that blends French and English lyrics, with Les Cooper's bittersweet lap steel adding subtle accents to the story. ~ j. poet