Cicada Rhythm: Southern Twilight With Punk-Dipped Roots

It seems like everywhere you go, you hear people saying good things about the Cicada Rhythm's newest album "Everywhere You Go." It's been stirring up good press for the Athens-based indie folk duo. American Songwriter was streaming it live even before its release.

And members Andrea DeMarcus (upright bassist) and guitarist Dave Kirslis describe the work's vibe as, "a patchwork album, tracking songs that blend orchestral folk-pop and ramshackle roots-rock in recording studios, living rooms, and gospel churches throughout Tennessee and Georgia."

PopMatters premiered the video for the album opener, “America’s Open Roads,” commenting, “While it opens up with a line as harrowing as ‘every day starts with a terrible dream,’ the song ultimately raises our spirits and reminds us that we are better together than divided. Its accompanying music video...is an ode to both the beautiful and tumultuous threads that tie America together.”

If you notice a slightly different edge to the music this time out, DeMarcus tells why:  "We're changing, but we haven't lost our sincerity. A lot of the songs are still emotional. They're raw, which has always been an important part of our sound. We haven't lost our identity; we've just grown around it.

"Fans of our debut will remember the socially-conscious 'Do Not Destroy,' an eco-friendly song that urged its listener to take care of the natural world. Much of 'Everywhere I Go' follows in that song's footsteps, forming a bridge between two dynamic records."

But the subject matter ranges wide. The Bluegrass Situation, for instance, in naming the title their Song of the Week said, “It’s a bluesy call to women — or anyone else — who feels less than the world around them. With a sly snap to her vocals and the gusto of a little punk-dripped roots, singer Andrea DeMarcus counts her value to a cascade of drums and instrumentals helmed by partner Dave Kirslis.”

As Creative Loafing of Charlotte, N.C, notes, "Cicada Rhythm craft an open-hearted, inventive blend of American music is deceptively simple songs that are both haunting and playfully jaunty... Rarely has a band’s name fit their music so well. Cicada Rhythm conjure up the Southern twilight when the buzz of insects washes in waves through the trees, and that eerie but comforting moment of stasis before the world transforms."

So Apparently the group shares the euphonious sound of its namesake. Who knows, you might even hear a cicada somewhere in the background on the highways and byways outside a gospel church.