In the great realm of husband/wife musical duos, it always seems to be more hit than miss: Arcade Fire , The Weepies, Mates of State, and Fleetwood Mac are some winners that first come to mind. Yet there are many other burgeoning duos that don’t get the perpetual recognition of Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. Take Portland husband/wife duo Corvair whose colorful songwriting flair is comprised of Heather Larimer and Brian Naubert and is ripe in bright production and masters hook-laden melodics.
The duo’s second album, Bound to Be is out June 23 out via Paper Walls and Where It’s At is Where You Are and packs in lush indie pop with radio-era hooks – think New Pornographers meets 10,000 Maniacs meets Yo La Tengo. Glide is premiering the album’s first single “Right Hook,” (below) which with its sugary indie pop sophistication will win over many a power pop ear.
Larimer says of the song: “On this record, I pushed myself to be more exposed and unfiltered. I can unfortunately be an ugly fighter and I wondered what would happen lyrically if I just owned up to it. The things I do that I am ashamed of and the toll it takes on everyone involved.” Naubert adds: “The musical spine of this song was me thinking about Tears for Fears meets King Crimson. But then Heather wrapped that art rock foundation in a Blondie-meets-Shirelles pop energy. It’s a strange combination that fits the story–out of control emotions that end in shame and regret.”T
The duo has previously recorded or performed on more than twenty albums. Larimer’s musical mainstay was the garage pop band Eux Autres, broadly hailed as a “veritable cult classic” band and radio-debuted by the late John Peel. Naubert is a longtime fixture of the Northwest rock community, having played in vital bands such as Tube Top, Pop Sickle, The Service Providers, and the critically-lauded Ruston Mire, since 1995.
Bound to Be is the duo’s second album and it features Larimer and Naubert on vocals and instruments, along with Northwest powerhouse drummer Mike Musburger (Fastbacks, The Posies).
The duo attributes their sudden explosion of compelling songwriting to the fact they have been friends who watched each other’s musical trajectories for many years, but only in the last few years decided to collaborate. After a thundering opening salvo with their self-titled debut, Bound to Be explores darker and more complex themes and traverses far-flung musical territory with mercurial mood swings.
Larimer says of Bound To Be, “The record was created among the rubble of what’s happened in the last couple of years. We took a very hard look at the world, and at ourselves. We wrote things we’d never been able to write before, were very exposed and truthful and, at times, gripped by outrage and anxiety.”
Naubert adds: “I tried hard to undo whatever I happen to know about music theory on this album. It’s really exciting to still be figuring out what we sound like, combining decades of separate songwriting experience. We keep learning how to play to each other’s strengths and push each other to be more ourselves–weirder or rawer. It’s my favorite record I’ve ever been a part of.”
