Kerbside are Sean & Kimberley Lightholder, originally from San Francisco, but now based in Ireland, and “Anything Strange” is their debut album. They played a 15 minute slot at the Cambridge Folk Festival at the end of July and, having witnessed it, I can attest that their graduation to bigger and better things cannot be long delayed. Live they purvey soulful acoustic pop like the jaunty “College Town”, which has a beat you have to dance to and a chorus you have to sing, and the bouncy intensity of “10 Minute Anniversary”. When you hear the album though, there’s a deeper, darker side to their music. On “Talk”, a post-relationship plea to a former lover, Sean brings a haunting intensity to his vocals which Kimberley complements perfectly. Sean’s a bit of a lyric star too, as “Chastity”’s “she said I’m not expecting much/he said, well that leaves room for me” and “Mahal Ko”’s “I’ll take you out in the harsh light/bleach you out, blind you hard/and put you away” can testify. There are also some nice instrumental touches scattered across the songs, from “Chastity”’s snatches of Hammond organ to the mandolin on “Indian Dance”, the only cover here. Duos and duets seem to be on the rise, one thinks of The Arlenes, The Havenots and the recent pairing of Thad Cockrell and Caitlin Cary. Kerbside can be mentioned in the same company, and “Anything Strange” is highly recommended. www.kerbside.ie Jeremy Searle 7 out of 10

Kerbside A review of their album 'Anything Strange' Review Snapshot: Married troubadour couple deliver an album of stirring folk tunes that ripples with intriguing elegance. The Cluas Verdict: 7.5 out of 10. Full Review: Sean Lightholder plays guitar and percussion. Kimberly Lightholder plays bass. Sean writes the majority of the songs. They both sing. Together, they are Kerbside. But more importantly, as a duo they are creatively deft in making music. From the opening crackle of ‘Mahal Ko’ through to the charming ‘Indian Dance’, both manage to command your attention with an album full of hidden delights. ‘Anything Strange’ flows with a plethora of sweet harmonies, tingling instrumentation and a cavernous swoop of glorious melodies. Basically this gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. The slick production work builds a cosy ambience while making the album feel like it was recorded in a sitting room (which it was). The use of diverse instruments including the mandolin, keyboards, drums and harmonica works well across the album. However, it is Sean and Kimberly Lightholder that you will keep noticing throughout with their combined vocal styles and impeccable sense of timing. Songs like ‘Talk’ and ‘Chastity’ help to showcase a honey-soaked tenderness that cascades along through the album’s entirety. At times, Kimberly’s vocals remind of a countrified Beth Orton but she has no problems finding her own voice on the tingling ‘Departure’, a song with sorrowful lyrics such as ‘all the imperfections I could not disown/ are stripped away on this happy day’. But this is far from a morbid album though with a number of upbeat folk-pop numbers standing out, including ‘College Town’, ‘Travellin’’ and ‘Indian Dance’. It is the blend of elegant ballads and hopeful pop tunes though that transforms this collection of songs into a well-rounded album. It is one of those albums that tap into a range of emotions without you even noticing. Kerbside, a name to be aware of and ‘Anything Strange’, an album deserving of your attention.

Much like breaking-up, lo-fi is hard to do. There’s a fine line between boring and heart-stoppingly beautiful when it comes to simple guitar-based songs, and few people find the perfect formula. Kerbside walk this line dangerously close to boring on one or two songs but manage to swerve in the right direction more often than not. But before we even get into the music, there are two things worth noting about this husband and wife duo. Firstly the packaging is pretty nifty, with a mini ‘record’ for a cd and an eye-catching jacket, so if we’re judging things by covers here, these guys get a well deserved ten out of ten. Then there’s the name: Sean and Kimberly Lightholder. Pah! to you, Nick Casablancas. Website Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, the Lightholders (seriously, how cool is that name?) settled in Ireland nearly four years ago and started doing covers in pubs and clubs across the midlands before introducing their own Spanish-twinged lo-fi tunes. Sean is the songwriter in the family and while both take guitar duties, it’s Kim’s occasional harmonies that stand out. Even more than the cover. Continuing the illusion, the album begins and ends with the familiar crackling of an old record. We are introduced to Kerbside by ‘Mahal Ko’, a fitting summary of what to expect from the rest of the ‘record’. A track with a Latin feel sung in the deep, slightly grizzly version of Sean’s voice that wouldn’t seem out of place in a grunge band circa 1991, with Kim adding her bit or magic in all the right places. Let’s talk for a moment about that voice, which takes over on second song ‘Departure’. The beauty of it is that it’s effortless: natural and full, she doesn’t need to shout or reach for high C. She just quietly, at times almost incoherently, sings along and each song is all the better for this. Following three simple tracks comes the token alt-country up-beat tune. But there’s nothing token about ‘College Town’, a fun description of characters in his home town, whether that’s in Ireland or elsewhere. Three minutes of light entertainment. ‘10 Minute Anniversary’ also employs a set of drums and a bit of oomph, but suffers slightly from a poor, even annoying, chorus. The Spanish finger-work on ‘Chastity’ and sweet lyrics of ‘Bookmark’ are both commendable, but it’s ‘The Ex-Patriots’ that is the next song to make a real impact. Again, Sean goes for a more grumpy pitch and comes off as being quite resentful, which is perfect for a track that includes the brilliant lines: There ain’t nothing in this world gonna make me feel/ You can call it what you want, I call it real/ Oh misery, where have you gone? Straight harmonies are abandoned with Kim opting instead to sing her four lines over and over in the background. It makes for an incredibly haunting listening experience that evokes every emotion from anger, to fear, to bitter-sweet love. ‘How Far’, another Kim solo, sounds like it came straight out of the streets of some small Iberian village. Great, if you’re into that kind of thing. ‘Travellin’ is about, you guessed it, a laborious journey, one we all take that ‘never seems to end’. Hmm, I wonder what that’s an analogy for. The use of a harmonica is a nice touch, especially for the subject in hand; you can imagine him taking a break from a long walk to, you know, have a bit of a sing-song on the side of the road. ‘Indian Dance’ finishes off the album on a bit of an anti-climax, it’s another sunny, light-hearted one that’s more ‘10 Minute Anniversary’-annoying, than ‘College Town’-fun. It’s a nod to popular music, but one that that won’t gain them any more listeners. If we are to follow the general advice and not just judge by the cover, Anything Strange? might not get full marks, but it comes damn close. There may be one or two bleeps along the way but on the whole this is a collection of uncomplicated, simple tracks that coax hugely emotive reactions from unsuspecting listeners. And if I’m not mistaken, that’s the whole point of lo-fi.