‘All the Ways You Sing In The Dark’ lasts thirteen minutes and leaves you longing for more. The four songs on the EP come from a collaboration between Sital-Singh and Ben Cramer last summer and retain that feeling of airy freedom. The opener `Call Me When You Land’ is irresistible. A gentle strumming guitar starts, the duo trade verses, plush strings emerge and Singh’s gorgeous high register carries the chorus. In a less fragmented musical market this would be one of those old-fashioned hits secretly enjoyed by the musical cognoscenti.
The duo worked on musical inspiration while driving around Silverlake and Hollywood, and `Ameranth Moonlight’ may well be a gentle pastiche of the sounds and mental imagery of bands such as The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Knowing or not, it is as infectious as anything produced by those artists. There’s a gentle beat and guitar line that captures you in the first few bars and suddenly it becomes the sound of cruising past palm trees.
`Summertime Low’ is the melancholy side of technicolour days. With off-beat timing and subdued semi-spoken lyrics the song talks of the disparity between sunshine and loneliness. `Los Feliz’ is a two and half minute delight. A gentle waltz timed song with a lullaby theme; it is a quiet reassurance for fractious times. A chorus of voices sing “All is well can’t you see / Close your eyes fall asleep” and the song finishes with Singh’s vocal flourish.
There are only four songs here and all have gentle melodic hooks that stay with you. That often sounds like faint praise; a diplomatic description of pieces created superficially to please. It’s not the case here. This is a duo who complement each other and have a quiet relaxed confidence. Like all the best music it sounds like they have a natural joy in being lost in sound. ‘All the Ways You Sing In The Dark’ sounds like a meeting of musical souls and we can only hope there is more to arrive.
