Two Loons for Tea's self-titled debut is an innovative and lively recording that is brought to life by members of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, Living Daylights, Critters Buggin, and King Crimson. This recording was crafted by a slew of guest musicians, but at the center of the project are two gifted artists who have eloquently and articulately brought their musical ideas and cross-genre influences to the fore: Jonathan Kochmer and Sarah Scott. Kochmer and Scott's musical and artistic bond is quite apparent on this record, and the unity that you hear in their recordings lets you know that they've mastered the art of collaborative songwriting. Kochmer's introspective guitar playing is the nucleus of the songs that make up this recording, and Scott's vocals and lyrics compliment the guitar so well that it seems that these two individual timbral voices are one. The music on Two Loons for Tea moves between somber and lively; the emotional landscape in between is bridged by a variety of ethnic and orchestral instruments -- including vibes, viola, erhu, and tabla -- that seem to breathe new life into the compositions just at the time where they become too pop-oriented, thus providing a bit of an experimental and eclectic streak to most of the works that make up this recording. This is an interesting recording that's quite dark and elusive. This recording has a bit of a singer/songwriter feel, but it's more eclectic and more diverse than most of the recordings in that genre, thus making it hard to pin this down to a specific genre. Fans of good music that's both fresh and interesting will be pleased with this release. ~ Matt Borghi