Fleur and Wesley Wood make an interesting couple. He’s from the state of Washington, while she hails from New Zealand. Since meeting in 2014, they have created a musical blend marrying acoustic instruments with heartfelt lyrics and pure vocal harmonies. For a Day or a Lifetime may only be their third album, yet they cause a sensation by creating music that stirs the senses while singing the simple truths of two people in love with each other and the road they are traveling.
Between the sounds of mandolin and guitar, mixed with bass, drums and a touch of harmonica or banjo, producer Ryan Hadlock has developed a rapport with the two that makes songs like ‘Creek and the Hills’ bubble with a timeless style and substance. There’s a poignancy to ‘March’ and its tale of war, one that examines the false bravado of young men compared to the sorrow of their lovers “Look at the girls left behind to get his picket fence/ He promised that he’d do his best/ But he’s leaving her to weep.”
A softly struck cymbal combines with the strains of guitar and mandolin to open ‘Treasure Like Gold’. Slowly and gently the song builds with the sounds of a muted steel guitar. As the song ends the tempo shifts with the song taking on a wistful quality. In contrast, the snare drum snaps with a finality on ‘Throw the Line’ while Fleur sings “The ember glows, the fire is dying/ in the wreckage of the September sun/ I know good times are lying/ While we’re headed for the great divide.”
A sense of sadness pervades ‘Dandelion Bouquets’. this is more than just something brought on by the shortening of the days. “October came and took our light away/ We let it down in darkness and removed our chains/ to look in glass at dandelion bouquets/ isn’t it easy to forget the tears of those days.” The lack of sunlight becomes more oppressive, yet eventually spring will come again.
This is an album about women and men, comings and goings, and the world we live in today. Love is a constant. It’s what makes us crazy and it’s what keeps us from going crazy. The W Lovers have found some of the keys and they share them with a joy and wonder on For a Day or for a Lifetime that keeps us in touch with who we are.
