I wasn’t on The Staves bandwagon the first time I heard of these girls despite the fact that they play with some of my favourite acts (Bon Iver, Ben Howard, Daughter, Michael Kiwanuka) and that they’ve received good promotion from Communion. It frustrated me for quite a bit – if that ever happens to you – that I couldn’t get into someone’s music even if it presents all the elements that I would normally like. I remember saying to myself then that one of these days, I’m going to understand The Staves’ music.
And I finally did. I forgot how it happened exactly, but it was one of those dull afternoons, and I – just for the heck of it – decided to listen again to “Mexico”, a four-minute track from The Staves’ Mexico EP released back in 2011. Three more plays later, I explored their other tracks and decided: this is good stuff.
“Mexico” is also included on their newly released album Dead & Born & Grown, a collection of 12 beautifully crafted tracks from sisters Jessica, Emily and Camilla Staveley-Taylor. It includes gems like “The Motherlode” and “Pay Us No Mind” – my early favourites from the group. You can listen to the track “Mexico” here, the existing proof that second chances are worth something:
This post was initially published in Music Weekly Asia.
Dawn Lanuza 