The debut album by then-duo Dan Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell is a beautiful and fragile piece of dreamy folk-pop. The spare yet clean production introduces a band whose vocal stylings and soft instrumentation help create a mood of uplifting contemplation. For a drumless effort, Tales of Brave Ida manages to fill the space with a rich, dynamic sound which appropriately revolves around the beautiful harmonizing of Mitchell and Littleton, whose quiet lyricism so perfectly mirrors the gentle strumming of acoustic and electric guitars. On songs like “Tempting” and “Slow Dance,” Ida practice their own special brand of emotional reflection. The songs on this album focus mainly on the substance and importance of relationships.
Ida share a knack for illuminating the beauty of quietness with singers like Nick Drake and bands like Galaxie 500. Tales of Brave Ida is a bold and creative debut filled with folk-pop classics that will hopefully be rediscovered by a larger audience over the years. – Marc Ruxin