[CD-R, 2006]

I just had a revelation while listening to "White Sheets." It took me a while to place it, but when I finally grasped the song Eliza Sohn's vocals reminded me of, I felt a surge of happiness. That song is “Some Things Last A Long Time” by Daniel Johnston. If you don't know this man's music, shame on you. But you're not here to listen to me ramble on about the lo-fi-folk-god. You're here to read about a little Portland, OR group called The Golden Hours and their do-it-yourself CD-R, not the master of DIY recordings. So here goes:

The Mystery & Her Crew is a soft album with two distinct personalities. Four songs feature Eliza on vocals while the other two have Brian Yoder. The primary similarity is found in the third member, Raf Spielman, who performs on all tracks but the last. The album is quite a dichotomy, yet with such split personalities comes a rarity—it adds rather than detracts from the album.

Mrs. Sohn's airy vocals are light and whispy and primarily accompanied by a synthesizer or two. Whether it's “Ships At Sea” (my personal favorite), “Shallow Breath” or “White Sheets,” it is apparent that Sohn has developed a style both beautiful and unique. “Drop Anchor” is a soft acoustic song, the last on the album, and a solo work of Eliza and her guitar.

I recently saw Calvin Johnson (Founder of K Records and found in Beat Happening) perform in a Moscow, ID sandwich shop and Brian Yoder's vocals carry a Johnson-esque baritone quality. Similar to Johnson, on tracks like “Young Eyes,” Yoder's accompaniment is a simple nylon-string guitar. The song also features Spielman on glockenspiel. The other Yoder song is "When Two Giants Are Forced Into The Hills" with similar results

The Mystery & Her Crew is a surprisingly powerful compilation of songs for being housed in a cardboard CD case and recorded on CD-R. It is one of those albums that makes a music critic grin—a gem amidst countless useless jewel cases, unimpressive album covers, and unwarranted hype. The Golden Hours prove that the do-it-yourself community can be much, much more than merely noteworthy.

Check The Golden Hours out on MySpace.

1. Ships At Sea
2. Young Eyes
3. Shallow Breath
4. When Two Giants Are Forced Into The Hills
5. White Sheets
6. Drop Anchor