This new album “Dances of Significance” by Ned and Wendy the Band is something special and it sounds far away from the commercial pop releases that have filled this summer. I like albums that do not seem worried about fitting into one box and this one takes that idea seriously.
The opening track, “The Fly and I” gives you 4 minutes of raw vocals, strong instrumentation and hooks that stay in your head. There is no heavy layer of effects trying to hide the performance. It is simply the duo doing their thing and letting the songs speak. I was waiting for more energy after that, and then “It’s Hard To Be In This World” and “Here, Now” came in with a different side of the band. Both carry a lot of emotion with great songwriting, melodies and acoustic playing. They are not heavy or dramatic songs. Pay attention to the singing and the rhythm starts shifting, leading into a nice dance vibe by the last minutes.
And the album keeps going, all the way to the closing track. For me, the best part is the variety. There is a little bit of everything here, but it still sounds like one journey. You can hear that these two know their instruments and understand how to play with sound. I loved the whole album. The instrumentation is rich and the sounds are different from what I hear every day. I would love to hear more from this duo.
