Speck Mountain Issue #39

Some Sweet Relief

By Erica Phillips
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 3:55pm

Karl Briedrick and Marie-Claire Balabanian came of age in suburban homes where they both hungered for culture — a likely influence behind their yearning ambient tracks. When they later met in New York, the two found they shared a certain eclectic sort of musical sentiment. Briedrick and Balabanian formed Speck Mountain and moved west to windier climes, where they produced their first record independently on DIY label Burnt Brown Sounds (which they still run).

Some Sweet Relief, Speck Mountain’s second album, finds instrumentalists Claire Haley and Katie Wiegman adding their part to the ambience, while Balabanian’s voice — a slightly trickier-sounding Alison Krauss — leads the way from soft coos to bluesy wails. Pulsating electric guitar riffs, creepy organ chords, and campfire-style backing harmonies round out each track, practically compelling the listener to lay back, turn out the lights, and stay awake until the last note fades.

Beginning strong with the road trip-toned “Shame On the Soul,” the album falters slightly on the third track, “Angela,” which sounds new-agey and Sting-like. Fortunately, all is recovered in the two following tracks: “I Feel Eternal” is a spaced-out big band-style number (complete with a horn section); and “Some Sweet Relief” captures the essence of Appalachian folk.