The Hackles - A Dobritch Did As A Dobritch Should (2019)

The second time around the duo of Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie took a much more collaborative approach to the musical arrangements that support their still lovely harmonies and vocal interplay. Whereas their debut album was striking for the sparse arrangements that accompanied their voices, this album brought in friends from the Astoria, OR music community to arrive at a fuller sound. Claborn and Ydstie credit producer Adam Selzer with the final shape that the album took, saying that he had a “huge effect on how the album turned out”.

When asked about the cryptic name that they gave the album and any unifying thread that might tie the ten songs together, the duo notes that they were trying to see the big picture by looking at individuals. When that mission meets the duo’s songwriting strategy, the result is storytelling by snippets. The lyrics on this album paint vivid images but sew them together with bits of gauze, cobwebs, and clouds. If you’re looking for pedantic content, this isn’t it. The songs on this album grab a listener’s attention only to slip away from them again. It makes for an enjoyable listen.