Robyn Landis: Press

What a wonderful album! The duo of Robyn Landis and Steve Amsden (Short and Sweet) are great together – her smooth vocals, like an earthy Laurie Lewis, are a nice compliment to his rich tenor. Throw in some fine acoustic guitar work by Amsden, right-on bass from the fabulous Cary Black, lively fiddle from Paul Elliot and more, and you’ve got a relax-in-your-chair big ol’ dose of straight-ahead folk.

Landis has won a lot of songwriting awards, and it’s easy to see why. She’s great at taking a moment in time and using it to convey an emotion so strong that everyone listening will nod their heads, remembering a time in their own lives when they felt the same. Her promo material says she’s been compared to Dar Williams, but I don’t see that in her writing. Dar’s writing is more philosophical, and while there’s a hint of that in Robyn’s work, her writing is more descriptive, like a good short story. Steve’s work isn’t as wordy, often evoking images that leaves the listener to fill in the blanks.

“Winter Blues” opens the disc, a leaping fiddle leading the way, the upbeat arrangement a contrast to the melancholy lyrics. “In Your Arms” has some great images to show a longing for someone special:

High mountain desert
old bent pine tree
parched cries for water
the sun sets endlessly ...

There’s an ache in Robyn’s voice in “Say Goodbye” that would tell you the story even if you weren’t listening closely to the words (but you should). An acoustic guitar, simple bass, violin and vocals wrap lovingly around the melody. Beautiful.

“Calico Creek” is a wonderful love song and so is “My Amazing Grace": “She was meant to be an angel, she's my amazing grace.” Now that’s a song you want sung to you on a warm summer evening filled with stars. There’s a cool swing feel to “Closing Time” and appropriately, it comes near the end of the disc.

The standout cut is “While Trees Fall,” a statement about our planet and what we’re doing to it. She implores:

They want to get into heaven through the eye of a needle
Let me in before the ones in suits can even try
Can I be an angel so I can ask some questions
before I let ‘em by ...

Amen, sister, amen.

"While Trees Fall is Landis' political ecological statement that comes off ten times better than some of the current attempts...subtle and indicting lyrics."

"The opening line of While Trees Fall hits you over the head and sends your brain swirling and waiting on the next lyric. It gives you chills...It’s a philosophical attack on corporate America and its use of media manipulation, lies, and pursuit of financial gain at all costs...transports you back to the time when folk songs and the stories that fueled them were the mainstream norm and kept droves of people packed in coffeehouses in complete silence listening to every word in the story, so as to not miss any profound insights or endearing thoughts."

"While Trees Fall is very straightforward and takes a shot at leaders who are aiming for heaven, but might not get there if this songwriter beats them there first. Robyn Landis is able to inject a little humor to a very serious subject: 'They never take my calls / They haven't got the balls / They just have lies is all / while trees fall and fall and fall.' Finally, a song that says what it means, performed by a singer who appears to mean what she says."

"For those of us who've been already been enjoying Short and Sweet at festivals and concerts, here's what we've been waiting for: a beautiful collection of their original songs. The studio work is excellent, and at the same time, it sounds just like their live performances: their shiny-smooth vocal blend, emotional impact, and really cool instrumental arrangements. The songs cover a big range of feeling, from the inward and personal to the intense and outspoken political. Some songs are quite contemporary, and a few--like "Calico Creek"--sound like they could've been written one hundred years ago. What a treat it is to finally have them on CD."