On 'Hurricane Clarice' stringband revolutionaries Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves infuse centuries of matrilineal folk wisdom into a soundtrack to environmental disaster. Produced by indie folk visionary Phil Cook, the duo's energetic sophomore album features nine pieces, including two epic medleys (carefully selected from their archival deep dives) as well as a few transcendent instrumental originals. Recorded during an apocalyptic heat wave in Portland, OR, the album is a testimony to the relation of community and climate in a dying world. The Hargreaves-penned title track delves into the surreal world of Brazilian author Clarice Lespector while the Canadian ballad "The Banks of the Miramichi" references the "before times" of a polluted river used as a case study in the environmentalist classic 'Silent Spring'. We turn inward in times of global or personal crisis, seeking the wisdom of those before us-a human instinct manifested literally on this record through the recorded voices of the duo's grandmothers. Any artist unearthing old sounds takes traditional elements and exaggerates here or there to fit a personal aesthetic or style-there is no authentic rendition. With 'Hurricane Clarice', Allison and Tatiana propose a third way beyond tradition and progress. Community might just save us all.
