Framing folk-pop lullabies with the sparest of acoustic instrumentation, the indie-pop duo Thirty Steps to Forward prove less can be decidedly more on their new CD, “The Bird and The Fool,” an album of fragile and aching beauty. Filled with melodies of crystalline delicacy, “The Bird and The Fool” is that rare debut album that lands fully formed, the work of artists forsaking trends or formula to embrace their music within. Gretchen, the female half of the duo, plays guitar and cello and handles most of the singing with a voice that crosses Kasey Chambers-like innocence with the confidence of The Cardigans’ Nina Persson. Seth contributes simple – but transformative, guitar and mandolin, and takes a couple turns at lead vocal, his troubadour-ish tenor providing stark contrast to his partner’s breathless frailty. Highlights include CD-opener, “Respectively Swollen,” title-track, “The Bird and the Fool,” Gretchen’s sweetly imploring “Won’t You Dance” and Seth’s confessional, “Bought a Ticket for a Plane,” but – truly, there’s not a weak song in the bunch. With a debut CD like “The Bird and the Fool,” Thirty Steps to Forward – mouthful-of-a-name notwithstanding, will appeal to contemporary folk listeners, as well as indie-rock fans of performers like Bon Iver and Iron and Wine.
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