Ari and Mia - "Land on Shore"

Ari and Mia make exceptional music. The first cut, “Turn Me Round,” is softly sung and strung wonderfully upon a delicate acoustic web. In fact, all the tunes are poetic and artistically executed.

The sunset colors on the album art seem to reflect the colors of the third and fourth chakras – confidence and creativity – which are in turn reflected by a line in the song “Marble Moon” – “I can only hope it’s true, Golden blooms ‘Neath marble woman moon.”

“Away” is packed with internal and external journeying: “And as night became dawn and I woke up alongside myself in a far away home.”

The instrumental composition, “Turtle,” shows off their playing chops.

The title song, “Land on Shore,” is an old Shaker tune with a familiar and beautiful melody. “Glad You Came By” has lovely harmonies and was written by their dad, Lev Friedman.

“All I Know” is a sweet little tune that carves up the air with the fiddle, just like the small canoe carves away at the blue in the lyric. What a clever song it is!

And another clever one right afterward – “Beautiful Victories,” which is based on a poem and music written in the 1620s. The guitar, cello and fiddle go jazzy and plucky and joyous.

“Starry Crown” is a ripping, foot-stomping, hoedown-Hazel Dickens kind of song, a probable Side Two to her “Fire in the Hole!”

“Hymn” starts out a little like Tom Waits’ lovely tune, “Fawn.” Then comes an undercurrent from the harmonium, and a sad, prescient message about the state of the world, sung in somber harmonies.

“The Dirty Bog” is another instrumental tune, written by Mia, but sounds like something old.

This is a luminous album, excellent in every way. If they plan to do a show in Maine I’d like to be there. I can tell from this CD that they would be great to see live in concert.  To find out more, visit their website at ariandmiamusic.com.