Damon and Naomi, The Earth Is Blue

Harp, May 2005

Damon and Naomi
The Earth Is Blue

Former members of Galaxie 500 Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang know a thing or two about psychedelic folk: Good portions of The Earth is Blue wouldn't sound out of place next to Judy Dyble-era Fairport Convention, especially when Yang's frail soprano is at the fore. Somehow the duo just manages to dodge triteness with lovely numbers like "Beautiful Close Double," which mixes inoffensive platitudes ("You can't step into the same stream twice") with faint, to-the-hunt horns and gorgeously melting electric and acoustic guitar. The horns, as well as the acid-filigreed mood, recur on the spooky "Malibran," which is voiced by an understated Krukowski. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" seems the perfect Beatles cover for these two, though they might also have done a trippy "Dear Prudence," and it flutters so tremulously that you might need a hand-holder to talk you down. True, sometimes Earth' s sound goes so ephemeral you'll doze a little, but as a blast from the flower power past, it's surprisingly fresh and nonprecious.