simple and simply beautiful

If you’ve ever been involved in music production or recording you know how difficult it is to capture a performance in a single take. Almost no one even tries anymore. Pare away the studio, the layering and the acoustical tweaking and leave only a vocal track and two spare guitars and suddenly it becomes the equivalent of a tightrope walk without a net. There’s just no place to hide.

Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte are Pomplamoose, a romantically involved musical duo I enjoy because they take just this kind of net-free stroll routinely. And I respect them because they are part of the burgeoning “new” music industry; no label, crowd sourced, fan supported, virally marketed. They are not always as unadorned and airy as this one perfect cut, sometimes layering on the brass and strings, guitars, piano and vocals. 

But on this simple and simply beautiful cover of Mark Owen’s “Makin’ Out”  they need only 2:55 to make it sooo clear that their talent is everything, and all the rest is just production.

I'll be the one who takes your coat off, one to take the blame
I'll be the one you call your lover, every now and then
You'll be the one who keeps me sober, one to keep me sane and you say
Shut up, shut up, every time I say it.