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As both a music fan and a professional critic, I can’t help but notice the uptick in increasingly conceptual output coming out of the underground lately. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting with the limits of your sound or skillset, but to turn everything into a work of avant-gardism starts to feel a little disingenuous, especially when working with a model that has been around for generations, such as Americana.
Although some of their peers have been more than content to go as extreme with the aesthetic as possible, to the point of even abandoning the core fundamentals of what makes it such an intriguing flashpoint in pop music today, this isn’t preventing Bettman & Halpin from going old school and making something quite wholesome and straight-shooting in their new album Timeless. Due to be released at the end of April, Timeless has eleven covers from the American songbook and three that come fresh off the presses from Bettman, but between you and me, had I not known which of these were originals and which ones were not, I would have likely assumed this duo to have been behind all of it.
There are no kitschy theatrics or indulgent poetic themes sewn into the bottom end of “All of Me,” “Moon River,” “Nature Boy,” “Summertime,” or “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and from the way that Bettman & Halpin arranged these standards, there wasn’t any room for them. There are instances in this record where the material legitimately feels like it’s being sourced from a much grander extended jam, with “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and the original work “What a Lovely Day” standing out as two of the most spirited performances in the tracklist.
URL: https://www.bettmanandhalpin.com/
The chemistry between the eponymous musicians in the studio is something to marvel at on its own, and you can just feel the steam-heat that rises when they start to get on the same sonic level. Texture is often given as much light in the mix as any element of tone is, and I’d have to say that this feels intentional on the part of the producer. This is a record that is meant to be a little invasive, and with the type of swing and balladry it partners together, I can’t imagine anyone taking issue with this.
A tonal masterpiece that isn’t scared to venture off of the beaten path in the name of getting something fresh off of its chest, Timeless is a record that feels and sounds so much bigger than the players responsible for bringing it to life this April. It’s worth noting that Bettman & Halpin have been flying under the radar up until the buzz surrounding this upcoming release got out of control this spring, and I don’t really picture them being able to remain a well-kept secret as the year progresses. They’ve got too much of a good thing to be wasted in all fourteen of the songs that you’re going to hear in Timeless, and I’m excited to see what they’ll do next.
by Jennifer Munoz
