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EVAN LEAVITT
he thing that most impresses about
Cicada Rhythm's sound is how big it is,
even though it's not. Cloaked in sleepy
sweetness???all ringing acoustic guitar
and sliding upright bass, cooed vocals with
snug, Welch/Rawlings-style harmonies???the
Atlanta-based duo's music lands with an
impact you didn't quite see coming.
Neither, actually, did they. "We never really
considered playing together, since we came
from very different backgrounds," says guitar
ist David Kirslis.
The story of how Kirslis met bandmate (and
eventual love interest) Andrea DeMarcus is an
almost too perfect folk tale???train-hopping
blues wanderer meets classically trained bass
ist in sleepy, sunny college town, and beauti
ful music flows forth.
But that last part didn't happen
immediately.
"She almost joined a metal band," says
Kirslis. Laughing, DeMarcus recalls, "I told
them that I wasn't what they were looking
for."
Instead, after a months-long series of con
versations about music, the pair decided to try
writing a few songs together. The four brief
tracks that comprise Cicada Rhythm's demo???
the only thing the band has released to this
point???do a fine job of showcasing Kirslis and
DeMarcus' talent, though the band must be
seen live to be fully appreciated.
Early training and a stint at Juilliard
(which, she notes, "kicked my butt") gave
DeMarcus an understanding of form, but also
inspired her to rebel against it ("I decided
I wanted to be a little more creative"); her
playing is adept and adaptable and exhibits a
rare purity. Kirslis, who cites Mississippi John
Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins as heroes, is an
understated player and a skilled finger-picker.
Both are blessed with instantly classic sing
ing voices that seem designed to be heard
together.
Their chemistry is true. In conversation,
they answer questions for one another and
laugh convincingly at one another's jokes.
Onstage, they are locked in and loose, at once
all business and all pleasure, in love with each
other and the music and the room. Still, it's
far from cloying.
"We very strongly try to avoid the kind of
She & Him love songs about the other," says
Kirslis. "We try to write about either personal
issues or things that matter. Things that peo
ple can relate to in their own everyday lives."
Cicada Rhythm's Kirslis-penned songs cast
a wide net and tug at hidden heartstrings.
Deforestation never sounded so tragic ("Do
Not Destroy"); nor has the issue of whether
or not to set a trap for an unwelcome animal
intruder been approached with such existen
tial weight ("Mouse Song").
In contrast, DeMarcus' tunes are more per
sonal in nature. "A lot of my songs are imme
diately about different things," she says, "but
I think, mostly, I write about being OK with
yourself???trying to be OK with mysetf, and
overcoming my personal struggles. Everyone
can relate to that, I think."
The juxtaposition of their two styles cre
ates the tension that is at the core of Cicada
Rhythm, that underlies the softly explosive
style that lends the music its breadth. It is
real, earth-worn music, where recognizable
fragments of time-tested styles provide a sup
port system for something slyly innovative.
Kirslis notes that some have described their
sound as "Appalachian Jazz," which is an apt,
if simplistic, label.
A full-length album???one the band hints
will feature an expanded musical approach???is
in the works, and has been for months; no
date has yet been set for its release. In its
constant quest for substance, Cicada Rhythm
takes its time.
"We wrote [a] song together... called
'Looking Glass,"' Kirslis says, "and it's kind of
about society's perception of musicians nowa
days, and how some people really don't value
it in any real-world sense."
With his partner DeMarcus, Kirslis aims to
recapture???and reveal???that sense of worth.
"I hope to continue writing songs that I'm
happy with, and most of all, that people can
relate to," he says. "If I can make an impact
that way, that will leave me satisfied."
Gabe Vodicka
f \
WHO: Greensky Bluegrass, High Strung
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WHEN: Wednesday, January 16
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