Last Birds are the Saskatchewan Folk/Americana duo of Mike Davis and Lindsay Arnold. You might know them from the folk group Hook & Nail. As Last Birds, they plan to release a self-titled EP in April. “As a husband-wife duo, we decided to approach our song choices by what we could both agree upon,” they said. “This is not always easy for us. These six songs represent a marital Venn diagram of our musical tastes.” /Gregory Beatty
“Tennessee”
Gillian Welch
The Harrow & The Harvest (2011)
Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings are masters at maximizing two guitars and two voices. “Tennessee” demonstrates how simplicity can be perfection. Anyone who can work the word “beefsteak” into a beautiful chorus is brilliant.
“Killing the Blues”
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Raising Sand (2007)
We listened to this album out of curiosity, wondering what this odd couple would come up with. The album quickly became a point of reference for our dual lead vocal approach.
“Younger Years”
The Milk Carton Kids
All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do (2018)
There’s music you like, music you love, and music you wish you had written. This song falls into the “wish you had written” category. We’re big fans of the sound production on this album. The acoustic guitars sound like acoustic guitars, like you’re in the same room with them as they’re being played. The supporting instruments never overshadow their charms.
“Unknown Legend”
Neil Young
Harvest Moon (1992)
This song drips with atmosphere. The listener is transported to a desert diner. You can smell the grease from the kitchen and feel a warm breeze drifting in from a screen door.
“Bad Timing”
Blue Rodeo
Five Days in July (1993)
We both loved this song before we ever knew each other. We’re suckers for a bittersweet storyline and this is one of the best. Bonus: Jim Cuddy sings like an angel.
“Nothing Else”
Angus & Julia Stone
Snow (2017)
Here is a song with a satisfying build. The layers slowly sneak up on you and never feel cluttered. Each sound is carefully selected and placed. Julia’s vocals are sugary sweet, but are counterbalanced by her brother’s tones. They blend in that wonderful way only sibling voices can.