Sacred Vagabonds - All That Matters EP (2024)

What happens when the former backup vocalist for Christopher Cross is introduced to the Nashville based duo Marvin & Gentry, who recorded and performed with the late Dan Peek, founding member of 70's group America? A magical blend of smooth three part harmony, refined lyrics and groovy guitars that hearken back to the golden era of folk rock singer songwriters, yet filled with modern sensibilities.

This showcase that drops February 28th is a 6-song 23-minute EP with 3-part harmonies produced by musicians Ken Marvin (vocals/guitars/bass/percussion) & Brian Gentry (vocals/6 & 12 string acoustic guitars/electric guitars/harmonica). The showcase was recorded in Nashville as All That Matters (Sweet City Sound/Hemifran).

The set leads off with the satiny textured “Beyond Blue” that even projects a hint of the old China Crisis groove. Not quite Steely Dan jazzy but having the necessary laid-back late-night feel that China Crisis’ expressive vocals conveyed (“Arizona Sky”).

“Amelia” however is a little more upbeat & creative in execution. The group doesn’t seem to have any one lead singer & depends on their “lead singer” to be the unified sound of the singers (with individual vocal accentuations by certain lead singers kept economical). It does make an interesting vocal sound that’s fluid. A tactic once employed by pop groups of the ‘60s like The Cowsills & The Association (“Cherish”) & later groups like Prayer Boat.

But Sacred Vagabonds isn’t wholly a pop group since their arrangements fall into a more well-articulated repository. More serious & concerned with atmosphere rather than catchiness. This is evident in “Goodbye Old Friend” which is subtle in approach & helped along by light harmonica notes. There isn’t anything overpowering. They’re not folky, or commercially flexible yet, they do have an informal reservation about them that makes it all quite listenable.

Some songs are treated organically with no vocal treatments, but some songs do have a tint of echo that isn’t pushed too heavily. Some lyrics are a little hard to decipher. Sometimes because of all the vocal colors that are converging on the lyrics at once & sometimes because the instrumentation runs a little hotter. This can be easily corrected through better production techniques. What happens when this is apparent is the listener is enthralled more by the melody than the actual singing. The vocals blur back as just another instrument that’s playing along. This was the blemish that was obvious on “Here Down Below” which sounds like it could’ve been an excellent tune otherwise.