The Wondrous World of Damon & Naomi

Damon & Naomi once commented, half-jokingly, that they joined a psych-rock group (Magic Hour) and ended up with a schooling in acid-folk, thanks to the listening practices and tastes of their band members, Wayne Rogers and Kate Village. This would end up informing their second solo album, The Wondrous World of…, in profound ways; acoustic guitars are to the fore, the singing is no longer wreathed in reverb, the songs are more simply written, but sturdier for it. Clarity through the haze – that seems to be the aim here, and you can hear that push-me-pull-you in the way their long-time producer fleshes out some of the songs, but leaves a few well alone. If you’d asked me back then whether two of the members of Galaxie 500 would go on to make one of the best folk albums of the 1990s, I’d have demurred politely, but Wondrous World is a deeply profound, moving collection of songs from a duo who were finding new ways to be.