A few years ago (2013 to be precise) I discovered Liz Longley, largely through a wonderful single on what was, I subsequently found out, her fourth album, the self-titled “Liz Longley”. The song was a cracker, ‘Outta My Head’, a beautiful tune and the wonderful lyric “’Cause I found your letters / And that John Martyn record / That we spun ’til it was dead”. I started following Liz and over time she started singing the praises on social media of a duo called Barnaby Bright (married couple Becky and Nathan Bliss) The Blisses are typical modern-day troubadours, having travelled the length and breadth of the US and toured Europe extensively, clocking up around 200 shows a year, spreading the sound of their soulful, beautiful voices and harmonies. Over the course of the last 15 years they have released five albums (“The Longest Day” is well worth your time). From their folksy beginnings they can now be described as an indie-folk rock with elements of pop, country, world and some jazzy roots music, in summary a rather unique fusion of musical styles. They write songs jointly and independently, about love and longing, and death and revenge, and many other relatable issues. Nathan is a multi-instrumentalist and Becky sings predominantly, and plays piano and harmonium. Her voice is a thing of wonder, swooping and soaring to fit a song’s needs but using the volume button to rein in to coo and soothe. Longley has supported their talent over a number of years, is a close friend and has joined them on many occasions in concert, and when you listen to their stunning harmonies, you wonder why commercial success has eluded them. They have lived in Brooklyn , Nashville and Kansas, where they currently reside, and their music has been heard on the soundtracks of TV shows such as ER and Sex/Life; they have opened for the likes of The Lumineers and Norah Jones; and they’ve won the grand prize at NYC’s Songwriting Circle.
They have in the last few years recruited a third permanent member of the group, violinist Carmen Dieker, adding a whole new element to their live shows. She first appeared on the aforementioned album “The Longest Day”, and also appears on the headline photo to this piece.
In 2020, the duo released what was voted (by Amazon and The New York Times amongst others) one of the best Christmas albums of the year. “Bleak Midwinter” is a mixture of classic Christmas songs (including a stunning version of ‘Mary , Did You Know’) and some new songs written by the couple. One such was this marvellous, contemporary and heartfelt track, with its timely and meaningful message for this time of year – “Smiles on every street and sweet songs sing of peace / Seems like the whole world goes on hold / Magic takes over and love fills in the holes / There are lessons to be learned / In the messes and the blur, in the blessing and the best we bring at Christmas / If we listen”. And, as an additional pleasure, Liz Longley, she of the equally perfect tone, adds her voice to the track.
Enjoy (and maybe look out for this couple to be included in our Feature, ‘More People Really Should Know About…’)
