Alright Alright

nre and expectations for content. The pair share a genuine love of words, evidenced by their tendency to play with a mix of simple and unique language in elegantly rhymed lines: Muscatine, Muscatine / Why you gotta be so mean? / Pearl of the riverside / in the flood where my brother died. They are often inspired by the rich history of places they visit as well as by familiar haunts in their hometown of Denver, Colorado. From southern industrial towns to street signs to abandoned cars on I-70, there is a sense of rootedness that lends depth and dimension to their songwriting. Yet there’s also a striking vulnerability present, an openness and willingness to connect that draws fans from around the world to reach out and feel held by their music. Part of the appeal of Alright Alright’s sound comes from the contrasting vocal styles: Seth’s Dylan-esque warble feels like a throwback to a brighter, purer moment in folk music’s past, while China’s lush alto tempers that brightness with a husky richness (imagine grey skies shifting over cornfields). At times direct and innocent à la Sondre Lerche, other times intricate and vast, their music combines hints of great folk duos like Simon and Garfunkel (in the lighthearted, layered melodies of “Trying to be Free”) with moments of complete originality. The songs incorporate classic folk and Americana elements as well as more pared-down moments of fragile piano. Comfortable in both love and grief, Alright Alright’s music is as comforting and as surprising as family life can be. “I think I write music for myself, to heal myself, and I write music for people who need it,” says China. Seth agrees: “It’s an act of identity and empathy.”

For Alright Alright, music making and family life are so intertwined that it’s sometimes hard to differentiate. Seth and China each prefer to write songs in relative solitude, then trade those distilled ideas with each other, allowing the song to grow in the other person’s hands. “We feel lucky to have the level of trust it takes to do this... to entrust your creative work to another person takes more than love-- it takes an enormous amount of respect.” While China often writes “from the outside looking in,” touching on the struggle to own and exert creative power, Seth’s writing tackles the subject from a slightly different angle: “I am constantly reminding myself to belong. That I do belong. Yes, I belong.” Sometimes their songs feel like introductory anthems designed to remind listeners that they are part of this world, and they are welcome here. Written by Anna Elise Anderson