While hearing the occasional household sound in the background can give a record a pared-back, DIY quality, the minimalism employed on California Trail by husband and wife team Adam and Darcie is occasionally guilty of leaving proceedings sounding a little hollow. That said, there's just enough character about most of these thirteen tracks to carry them through.

While the effective close harmonies of 'Never Been A Pilot' and the lilting mandolins of 'Nowhere No One' make for captivating listening, they're the main highlights of a formulaic first half, and it's the comparative discord of 'All I Ever Do Is Fall' and the brilliant 'National Forest' that signify California Trail's turnaround in fortunes. The latter is particularly impressive, alternating seamlessly between acoustic and electric to create an oddly effective and unpredictable effort.

Although it's a record guilty of petering out near the end, the closing 'Gold Hill' wraps things up with some flair, its striding, country-tinged second half providing the record's strongest moment. All in all, although guilty of being a couple of tracks over-long, California Trail is a unique – if flawed – exercise in DIY folk. There's an absence of consistency that needs tweaking, but it's an album with a fair amount of promise.

Rating: 3/5 by Mitch Bain

Tracklisting

1. The Fox Hare and Doe
2. Never Been A Pilot
3. Hands/Mind
4. Festival
5. I Need To Let Go Of What I Won't Miss
6. Nowhere No One
7. All I Ever Do Is Fall
8. National Forest
9. Before It's Better
10. California Trail
11. Steep Hollow
12. Grass Valley
13. Gold Hill

Further links

Adam and Darcie on Mysoace

Online home of folksy husband and wife team Adam and Darcie