Local folkies play intimate show at 51 Main

Despite last Friday’s bleak weather, the performance by Vermont’s own Split Tongue Crow managed to create a warm atmosphere at 51 Main. The five-piece band played a selection of earnest songs about life and loss that entertained and impressed an intimate audience. 51 Main itself was the perfect venue for the unique group; some dined, while others played board games and more still were to be found simply watching and releasing themselves to the band’s musings.

Split Tongue Crow define themselves by their Vermont background. The five members are all native North Easters and find it difficult to separate their sound from where they grew up; they describe it as an “organic” reflection of place. This organic music style comes to us as largely acoustic and balances indie-rock with new-grass and folk traditions, while remaining distinct from all of these genres. Their songs were generally based in texture arising from melody, harmonizing vocals and guitar. Percussion featured prominently and to great effect as the night progressed, contrasting the lush vocals.

Two songs, performed midway through the show, were perhaps the best showcase for the considerable individual talents of the performers. While the voice of the female lead — Cara White — shone through all night with a numbingly lovely timbre, it was at its most tender and rich in the harmony with her male counterpart in “God Only Knows.” The two were technically on fire in their swooping dynamic contrasts that mirrored the complexity of the song: a mix of passion and despair.

Above all, a real care for musicianship was felt in this number; the pair kept up the slow three beat solemnly but not indulgently, and spun their song with such delicacy that its personal importance was obvious. An earlier number, “Seems Some Time,” tapped into the same vein of melancholy and exposed the sensitivity of the guitar playing during a central interlude.

This unexpected moment drew the audience’s attention to the contrapuntal complexity the accompaniment had been providing all night; far from strumming chords in the background, the three guitarists were subtly presenting their own melodies, and weaving them in to the vocals with ease. It was an important moment to appreciate what musical sensitivity there was throughout the group, not just in the prominent voices.

As might be expected from a band rooted in Vermont tradition, Split Tongue Crow’s presence on stage was casual. The energy and intensity of performance was matched by the energy of group interactions, and quirky interjections between songs. “I like gladiators,” declared the mustached lead-singer half way through the night.

Another notable feature of the group was their lyrical artistry. This poetic deftnesswas highlighted by the clearly enunciated singing, but was enjoyable in its own right. Many lines were more akin to contemporary poetry than the rather forced rhymes so prevalent in many lyrics. The group, painting pictures with their words, used the soft inflections of language to produce individual lines that were as rich in sound as the songs themselves.

Although still unsigned, Split Tongue Crow have a well-deserved reputation in Vermont that appears to be increasing. Their shows in the coming months include performances at Two Brothers Tavern, Stone Hearth Inn in Chester and Chasers in Rutland.