women in docs preview

women in docs
National Women’s Festival, Bloomington
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007

The duo known as women in docs sound exactly the way you might imagine given their moniker and the photo sent alongside the album in the press kit. Yes, we’ve all been told not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case it’s hard not to. Of course, if the Indigo Girls or other Lilith Fair alums really irk you, then the 12 songs on the girls’ second album, Red Wine And Postcards, probably will do more of the same. But Roz Pappalardo and Chanel Lucas take the format made famous by the Indigos and run with it skillfully. Make that tread skillfully — those Doc Marten’s can be quite heavy.

Quite successful in their native Australia, they have a breezy style that doesn’t bog down the songs with over emotionalism and a search for life’s deep meaning. The album takes a down-to-earth approach that places significance on the ordinary joys of life and relationships, as well as the ordinary betrayals. Strangely, “Wherever She Goes (Geoff’s Song)” plays like “Home Improvement’s” Wilson’s theme song, while “Any Day Now” gets a lift from a delightful piano romp combined with a whiskey-soaked harmonica.

Keeping it simple seems to work for women in docs — from the instrumentation to the lyrics. “Ordinary day, just like any/ordinary days this week/ordinary people ask me/ordinary sort of things,” the girls sing in “Ordinary Day.” It’s a sentiment that can best describe the feelings this album evokes. Certain moments call for music pleasant enough to allow listeners to drift into the world of the songwriter. Pappalardo and Lucas create one where they’re memories mingle with your own.

— Janine Schaults

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly