CD Review: Mia and Jonah’s Rooms for Adelaide

By Julia Cooper

Americana tag team Mia and Jonah may be the musical equivalent of mac and cheese: Just as hearty helpings of the comfort food offer a simple but soothing cure for empty stomachs, the spare, commiserative melodies composing the Oakland duo’s second full-length, Rooms for Adelaide, transpire as the recipe to fill empty souls. (more >>)

In finest folk tradition, the twosome’s lush harmonies and minimalist guitar, bass and drums instrumentation (with the occasional dobro and harmonica squeal) take a backseat to quaking vocal delivery and consoling lyrics that show empathy for tales of woe. Mia’s ruddy growl naturally resonates with hard luck cases on rollicking opener “3 Stories High,” while Jonah’s countrified drawl constructs an unconditional beacon of hope on “Dance” (And even when the bottom feels like it’s dropping out in the middle of the ocean / Won’t you pull close to me?).

The plucks and jangles of Jonah’s acoustic guitar capably drive most songs, but the duo also throws in non-folksy stylistic surprises. The demented “Junkyard Dog,” which saunters on drummer John Hanes’ slack, trash-can beat and Mia’s roughneck attitude, channels visionary, experimental booze-blues curmudgeon Tom Waits -- apropos considering guest musicians Seth Ford-Young (bass) and Myles Boisen(electric guitars) have also collaborated with Waits.

Rooms for Adelaide peaks when Mia and Jonah hit lyrical hell on the album’s strongest melodies: the bluesy lament “Morning Hymnal,” which enmeshes Mia’s burdened lyrics (I don’t got no head / Got a 50 pound lead weight instead) with Jonah’s mournful hum; and “Rooms,” a hushed duet reminiscent of Irish troubadour Damien Rices collaborations with Lisa Hannigan, where Mia dwells in vulnerability while coping with life’s lingering troubles (Pardon me for smoking this old abandoned cigarette / But I got miles o' trail to squander and not enough time to forget).

With their heartfelt revelations, Mia and Jonah’s complementary musical coupling would make a most welcome guest to any whiskey-soaked pity party. And in troubled times like these, who isn’t in need of a cathartic soiree?

Sleepyboy Moe

MySpace (listen to "Lucky Son," "Dreamy Windows"
Official site

Hometown: Oakland
Next local show: 11/28, The Stork Club
Recent release: The Sleepyboy Moe Tapes, 2006

When it comes to homegrown East Bay music, Sleepyboy Moe is the real deal. Shaun Wargowsky, the man behind the name, moved to Oakland in 2005 and immediately became active in the local scene. The singer/bassist/guitarist began performing solo and with drummer Lindsay Cooper (of nicely named Oakland band Espionage a Trios) at small venues including Epic Arts in Berkeley. He recorded his debut CD, The Sleepyboy Moe Tapes, entirely in analog in Oakland and Berkeley. And his CD release party will take place Tuesday at The Stork Club in Oakland. (more >>)

As for the sound? It's been called sludge-folk, but that doesn't begin to convey the hiss, fuzz, and noise captured in songs like "Nice Try, Nice Guy." Most of the album sounds like a third-generation copy of a lo-fi cassette tape. Wargowsky's droning (yet enchanting) rhythms and possessed (almost feminine) vocals compliment the recording perfectly (or maybe it's the other way around), making this release more art than cheap reproduction of a live performance. You can find it at Aquarius Records in San Francisco (22nd and Valencia) and Amoeba Records in Berkeley (Telegraph and Haste), as well as online at CDBaby.com and iTunes.

CLEVELAND ROCKS:
-Before moving to Oakland, Wargowsky sang and played keyboards, bass, and guitar in a number of groups in the Akron/Kent/Cleveland area (Ohio, of course), where he attended school at Kent State University.
-These groups include the Stool Creak Circus (alternative rock), the Flavor Cat Hairparticles (ska, punk, Latin), and the Kent State African Ensemble (gospel choir).