Duet for Clarinet and Goat

This album sounds like it's from another era, a time when folks sat on porches and jammed on banjos and guitars. Duet for Clarinet and Goat is a first-time collaboration between Pete Krebs of the Kung Pao Chickens, formerly of Hazel and Golden Delicious, and punkgrass Bad Livers frontman Danny Barnes. It's an exercise in beautiful, spare production and tales of love, death, and religion. Pete Krebs and Danny Barnes employ guitars, banjos, and organs to fashion stripped-down, intimate tunes that criss-cross through Texas blues, country & western, bluegrass, and folk. Krebs and Barnes know when to hold back, and the spaces and silences in the songs create a place for the instruments and hushed vocals to resonate. "Worry Bout Yesterday" is a quiet, feel-good plea. "House Carpenter" is a traditional that will be a winner with anyone who loves revivals like the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. The folky love letter "Sleep Long Sweet Angel" is the most shimmering song in the set. And "Soft and Tenderly" is a church hymn that best captures the feel of the album. Krebs and Barnes aren't afraid to drop words like "Jesus" and "the Lord" in their lyrics, and it comes off not like a prayer, but a conversation between friends.