Emotional depth, close and warm harmonies, and absolute charm define The Milk Carton Kids. This duo, hailing from a place called Eagle Rock, California, have created a body of work that is timeless yet take your mind back to a time gone past. Maybe that makes no sense until you delve into their brief but scintillating music which is much more than a simple drop of American music.
Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale somehow seem to be brothers separated by birth. This has nothing to do with a similarity in appearance. Such singing in close harmony, as they do, at this level is rare and many times heard in familial formats or pairings. Think The Everly Brothers or The Louvin Brothers and you may get an idea of the comparison we are trying to make.
With four albums under their belt now, their first two still available to download for no cost on their website (how sweet of them!), there is no reason you should not dive into the beauty of their work.
Label it Americana, folk in the Greenwich Village sixties type format, or just plain damn fine music, this duo prove that less is more.
With Grammy Nominations, appearing on the soundtrack to The Coen Brothers 2013 film Inside Llewyn Davis, releasing a live DVD and non-stop touring over the last two years, giving the people more of their sound is what drives them onwards.
[include_post id=”447853″] Monterey is a gem of a record and it proves that a studio is not needed to capture the essence of these kids. Ryan and Pattengale recorded this album from the never ending road on the stages they played on each night. This was not your normal live recording though. The duo arrived at the venue hours before the performance and worked through one song and recorded it themselves.
This was repeated over and over again until the 11 songs were prepared and cooked. Here we had Pattengale and Ryan singing and playing where they felt most comfortable together and within themselves, on stage, and the warmth of the process and art shines through.
This showmanship and jaw dropping finger picking they have developed from coffeehouses and cafes to the now larger venues they visit has been perfected. On their only visit to our shores a couple of years ago you could sense in the room that the audience knew they were witnessing something exceptional. When the duo played songs like ‘Michigan’ and ‘New York’ the rooms were so captivated in silence you could hear a pin drop.
What you will be surprised about the most when you go see The Milk Carton Kids, and you must go see them if you delight in brilliant live entertainment, is that they will dredge up emotions in their words and music but you will be surprised by the counter play of their act on stage.
The duo will make you laugh and at times hard enough that you may not be able to stop before the next song commences. The comedic rapport they have honed is razor sharp and as dry as the Sahara. You have been forewarned.
With only a handful of gigs around our fair nation this time around, make sure you catch them now before they become bigger kids in the sense of the venues they may play. With the depth of talent these two possess the future looks very bright and it is our luck that we will get to bathe in that light once again.
Milk Carton Kids Australian Tour Dates
Sunday 28 June – City Recital Hall, Sydney, NSW
Tickets
Tuesday 30 June – The Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets
Friday 3 July – Old Museum, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets
Saturday 4th July – Bello Winter Festival,
Bellingen, NSW
Tickets
