Girlyman's debut disc, "Remember Who I Am," is a gift that should be unwrapped with fragile fingers and devoured by thirsting ears.
The band, comprised of Doris Muramatsu, Nate Borofsky and Ty Greenstein, blends delicate harmonies, soothing vocals and sensitive percussion to give listeners the feeling of daydreaming a ride above the clouds.
And the trio has apparently caught the wave of wonder audiences have tacked to them - they won the 2004 Independent Music Award in the folk/singer-songwriter category and were voted "Most Wanted to Return" at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.
On their eclectic album, Girlyman experiments with overlapping vocals, slide guitar that shimmers through the dimmest moments and folky percussion from the numerous djembes they use to produce their unique, unifying sound.
The opening, and emotionally strongest, track on "Remember Who I Am" is "Viola" - a heart-warming tale sang at first by Borofsky, who is later joined during the chorus by Greenstein and Muramatsu.
The steel pedal, along with acoustic guitar on this song is reminiscent of a warm summer night where lovers might meet to watch shooting stars and fall asleep under a calming canopy of darkness.
They sing, "I drowned myself tonight in sangria/Made with sliced up fruit and cheap marsala/Viola, Viola/... Viola, I swear I miss you."
These are the kind of truthful lyrics we all wish we could sing, and "Viola" fuses them with melodies that speak to an unreachable feeling deep inside of us all.
Although their sound appears to be categorically folkish, the three-piece group effectively uses their sublime voices and range of guitar skills to change tones and attitudes throughout the album.
On "Say Goodbye" Muramatsu, Greenstein and Borofsky tell an all-too familiar tale.
"Can't you see how I miss you so?/Can't believe your wanting to go/'Cause I just don't know how to make myself/ Let you go/And I still can't seem to find/A simple way to say goodbye/I'm not the kind for regret/Was there something I wanted to forget?/Either way, you'd already made up your mind."
The way the trio flawlessly harmonizes on the last note of "made up your mind" sends chills down my musical backbone.
Another song notably impressive for the strength of lyric is "The Shape I Found You In."
The opening stanza, sang by Greenstein, climbs into the nook of your heart and builds camp there for the remainder of the song.
"You were spoken for/I spent 20 lifetimes at your door/But your heart was busy within/Building bomb shelters under your skin/That's the shape I found you in."
Girlyman's CD is brilliant, but they're probably even better live. If curiosity is killing your soul, check the band out on Thursday at Wharton Center - they're opening for the Indigo Girls.
Suggested listening: When you can totally give yourself to the music, i.e. when you're alone or when you're wearing headphones.
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