I'm pretty sure that this is the first lullabies album I've ever gotten. I don't have any children of my own, but this appealed for me for two reasons. The first being that it's be The Hound + The Fox and I've come to really like them. If you don't know, The Hound + The Fox is the husband and wife duo of McKenzie and Reilly Zamber. I did a video spotlight on them earlier this year which you can find here, if you're interested. When they announced that this album was coming, I knew that I'd be getting it.
The other reason this album appealed to me is that as some of you reading this might know, I struggle with anxiety. Music can be such an important tool in helping to deal with certain things like anxiety. And a lullabies album seems like a good way to go as you expect the songs to be calming. Plus it's The Hound + The Fox and they make beautiful music. This album is no exception to that.
So how about we look at each track by itself? It's worth noting that this album features some wonderful collaborations. I'll be posting the links to everyone's YouTube channels at the very end of the post, if anyone is interested in seeing what they have to offer. I suspect people will be since they're all so good.
1) "It Can Wait" featuring Kevin "K.O." Olusola on cello. If you're not familiar with Kevin, he is the vocal percussionist in Pentatonix and is a wonderful cellist. I got to see Pentatonix last year and I always enjoy seeing how different vocal percussionist handle their solos, assuming they get one. Kevin brought out his cello and beatboxed while he played and it was one of the most interesting things I've seen. He's so talented and I love that he teamed up with The Hound + The Fox for this collaboration. It added something special to the track. Check out the video.
2) "You Are My Sunshine". This song always makes me smile when I hear it. I think it's so well suited for The Hound + The Fox. McKenzie's voice sounds so lovely on this track and Reilly's harmony complements her so well.
3) "Slumber My Darling" featuring the instrumental trio Simply Three. I only just discovered them about a month or two ago and like what I've seen. I'll probably do a video spotlight on them at some point down the road. As for this track, their playing on this is so beautiful. I like the way the instruments flesh out the sound. It's funny because album reviews can be somewhat stressful for me, but that has not been a problem this time. It's gorgeous and calming. It's a nice change of pace, I must say. Great track.
4) "What a Wonderful Love" featuring Evynne and Peter Hollens. What's better that one talented married couple? Two of them. I'm going to be honest and admit that this is the track I was most looking forward to hearing since I love Evynne and Peter so much. I was so curious to hear how they'd all sound together. I knew it would be beautiful, but this track still caught me off guard in the best way possible. It's a mashup and a wonderful one. It's "What a Wonderful World" mixed with "I Can't Help Falling In Love with You" and I'm kind of obsessed with it. It's so good!
5) "Baby Mine" featuring pianist Nathan Alef. If you've ever read any of my Evynne Hollens video spotlights, you've seen me gush about Nathan Alef as he's often accompanying her. He's a wonderful pianist. I think my favorite things about the collaborations collectively is how each of the performers McKenzie and Reilly team up with support the always lovely vocals in a different way and I love that.
6) "The Fox". This song features Reilly on lead. You know the sign of a great duo? When they are both equally capable of singing the lead or providing harmony. And McKenzie and Reilly are. These two were just meant to sing together. I like this song a lot. Reilly's vocal is almost conversational in this one; it's a great delivery.
7) "Lullaby" featuring violinist Taylor Davis. This is such a sweet song and I really like the instrumentation in this one. There's some interesting things going on, musically speaking. Beautiful violin solo in the middle of it. This track makes me smile when I listen to it. It's so soothing too.
8) "Go To Sleep Little Baby". This song was in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. The lyrics in the movie version weren't exactly appropriate for a lullabies album, so they tweaked the lyrics a bit so they'd fit. I really like their take on this and the way that they build this song. I'd say that this is one of the more interesting tracks on the album. The way they build and then the way it tapers down towards the end was so well done.
9) "Landslide" featuring Camille and Kennerly. I hadn't heard of Camille and Kennerly before this and so had to look them up. Come to find out they are identical twin harpists. Not something you come across everyday, but I like it. In thinking about it, the harp seems like a fairly neglected instrument in some ways. I like seeing it get its time in the sun. It's so interesting hearing how the different instrumentation affects the overall sound.
Plus with a song like "Landslide" that's so well known and been done by multiple acts, you always wonder if they'll be able to make it their own. And you know what? Mission accomplished. This song fits McKenzie's voice so beautifully and I've never heard it with harps. Good choice, great track. And it introduced me to a new act that I'm interesting in and I love when that happens.
10) "The Moon Song". What a lovely track this is. I like the relative simplicity of the music. Honestly, this is one of the great things about The Hound + The Fox in general. They tend to keep things more simple and I appreciate that. Sometimes that's exactly what you need and it works. Especially for something like a lullabies album. It's so calming.
11) "Little". McKenzie has become one of my favorite female singers. I just love listening to her sing. She has such a beautiful tone to her voice that makes it so pleasant to listen to. I like the way this track flows. This might sound odd, but there's parts of this that make me thing of ocean waves. I know. I know that's weird. It's just that there's times when it really builds up and then it'll calm down for a bit and then amp up again. Ending on a calm note. It's a nice ebb and flow thing going on and I like it.
All in all, I highly recommend this album. It's so beautiful and relaxing and I think it's great. If you like The Hound + The Fox and are interested in keeping up with them, here's where you can do that:
And here are the YouTube channels of all of their fabulous collaborators:
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