Pitch Perfect
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Augmeanted - Life, twice

9/28/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Augmeanted

Life, twice
​self-released; 2022

4.1 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By Dino DiMuro

Augmeanted is a musical duo from Missoula, Montana with distinct classical influences. Cousins Mary Overlie (vocals/piano) and Geoffrey Taylor (violins/chin cello/mandolin) are established musicians in their own right: Overlie is the creative spark for the band Mudsong in Minnesota, while Taylor is a professional violinist in Missoula. Collectively they’ve been recording and composing for over 15 years, and their debut album together is titled Life, twice.

The album takes its name from a quote by author Anais Nin: “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.” Their press release describes their music’s effect on listeners as  “…feathered by the wings of the crescent moonrise, embraced by the concert hall’s symphonic swirl, or rib-tickled by Appalachian fireflies. Taking their cue from Victor Hugo, Augmeanted writes music to ‘express that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent,’ giving voice to moments best carried along the heart’s strings. The recordings are a mix of vocally-driven meditations on the moments that leave us speechless, and violin-driven improvisations that say what’s impossible to say.”

Vocals and piano tracking took place at Supple Studios in Minnesota, with fiddle added in Taylor’s home studio in Missoula. Final mix was by Troy Foss.

“Pressed” begins with an a cappella vocal with the words: “Any day now, any day now…” making me think I was about to hear a cover of the classic song “I Shall Be Released.” The song goes somewhere quite different, however! Overlie’s evocative vocals and piano are perfectly paired with Taylor’s strings, and the imagery reaches far and deep: “Like the Lutheran’s say / each judgement (sun)Day / Forgive me for what I’ve left undone.” As the song continues it feels almost like an old heartland classic. Taylor’s chin cello overdubs (a violin with strings tuned an octave lower, like a cello) and violins sound uncannily like a small chamber group. Interestingly Overlie doesn’t always stick to the printed lyrics, adding and changing lines at whim.

“Water Works” introduces Taylor’s mandolin, which gives the music even more of a Civil War-era feel. After a short intro, Overlie takes another a cappella vocal that plays like a spiritual (without being dedicated to any specific deity, unless it’s the Earth and its elements). I actually got chills when the mandolin and voice finally joined together. 

“Big Medicine” has the dynamics of a Carole King tune or a Phoebe Snow vocal crossed with Augmeanted’s chamber group sound. I’m guessing the “big medicine” of the title is music, to which I would wholeheartedly agree. “So I heat up this voice, cook it over this heartfire / And I tie off my choice, just let my longing speak its desire… Your song is the only way to heal.” Lots of drama in the musical climax here. Speaking of drama, the following “Love You More” feels like a moment alone onstage where a character reveals her deepest feelings to her partner, and us. Another breathtaking vocal performance by Ms. Overlie. Each instrument so totally commands its space that when someone foot-stomps in time, it feels as big as a kick drum. Taylor’s violin solo at the end has touches of Middle Eastern phrasing.

Even the title of “Shanendoah’s Roads” sounds traditional, and this track is an upbeat mandolin-featured ditty with multiple vocal overdubs by Overlie that remind me of the late Capitol Records artist Salli Terri. “I never thought that I’d return to the lands I left many songs ago / My weary eyes, my beleaguered soul / has sung its way Home to my Shenando’.” 

“Stung” features yet another gorgeous strings and piano arrangement. I’d never heard of the chin cello before this album, and it really does create a low, sonorous and enveloping feel to the music, even more than a traditional cello would (which is an interesting dichotomy!). Augmeanted’s lyrics often seem concerned with Love in all its forms, and in this song “Stung” indicates being “stung by love” and how this is not a bad thing. In fact: love “…keeps your heart afloat in all of the murk and the grime / Let it take your breath / Give each its time.”

​
The latter half of the album consists of a 22-minute suite in five parts called “The Catching Snowflakes Suite” (just like the album cover!). The opener “Chasing Pomegranate Moons” is a languorous overture where both piano and strings are able to stretch out. There are “lyrics” but they don’t appear in the track. “Wildfired Sunrise” is a surprisingly jazzy tune (with a trace of Vince Guaraldi) that references the experience of seeing the sun cloaked red in smoke and haze (we get a lot of that in California). With “Jumping Waves” I’m starting to think this is actually an “elements” suite like Brian Wilson. The music here seems to mirror the constant crashing and churning of ocean waves, with an early Velvet Underground abandon. “Sandial” sees the passage of time through the grains of a sandial, with the piano tinkling almost like children’s music to mark the moments gone by, as Taylor contributes a romantic violin reverie. The suite concludes with the gentle, quiet rumination “Sevens, Nines & Elevens” that borrows the main chords from “Trois Gymnopedies” by Erik Satie.

The album’s final track “BeLeave You” returns to the group’s classic sound, and just might be an ode to, and celebration of, creative writing! Or it could be as big as releasing the shackles of preconceptions that weigh down one’s self. I like that I can’t be sure!

For those among us who love strings and classically-influenced projects, this album is a must! I’m very excited for this group’s future projects.
official website
bandcamp
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure. We feature a wide variety of genres like americana, electronic, pop, rock, shoegaze, ambient, and much more.

    Massive thanks to @pitchperfect158 for the expertly written review of our tune, Chapter 1, from the Tangents EP . Check it out here. ❤️https://t.co/TIDRHi9vyB

    — AuldWhiteLabel (@AuldWhiteLabel) February 1, 2025

    For those of you craving some real music journalism to cut through the tide of AI generated nonsense we seem to be drowning in check out this from Matt Jensen at @pitchperfect158 https://t.co/9Kf8GMgnvM

    — Garfield Mayor (@garfieldmayor) January 31, 2025
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter

PR Services

PR Services
© Pitch Perfect 2025. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact