Have you heard of Ned and Wendy The Band yet? If you’re a fellow folk fan, their new album is a must-listen.
Ned and Wendy The Band is a Portland-based glam-folk duo—a term they and a friend coined spontaneously over drinks and have embraced ever since.
Back Around Again features eight tracks, all written by Jordan and Lindsey Plotner (Ned and Wendy), and distributed by AWAL. The album artwork and production are also the handiwork of this talented couple, with Jordan handling production and Lindsey co-producing.
In December 2019, Lindsey, living in New York, and Jordan, based in Los Angeles, were introduced over the phone by a mutual friend and music producer. Initially planning a simple collaboration, their partnership evolved into something deeper. After navigating a pandemic romance, Jordan’s spinal surgery challenges, and Lindsey’s cross-country move to Los Angeles to live with Jordan—whom she met in person for the first time on move-in day—the duo formed a band, got hitched, and eventually settled in Portland.
These days, the couple are well-known in Portland’s music scene, performing at venues like Alberta Street Pub, White Eagle, Kelly’s Olympian, and various intimate spaces. This latest album, recorded almost entirely in Portland, reflects their journey of moving to a new city, starting a new marriage, and finding a sense of home.
Back Around Again’s themes reflect many of these shared experiences. Overflowing with authentic, homegrown folksy charm, it encompasses a spectrum of reflection, curiosity, mystery, awe, and joyfulness. Recorded almost in its entirety in Portland, the production shines in its simplicity, and the duo’s gorgeous vocals create a warming, immersive listening experience.
Some Track Highlights:
1. There’s a Man On the Corner (Who’s Writing an Opera)
This seemingly autobiographical song tells the story of an encounter with a man living on the street, training in krav maga, and writing an opera. A sweet acapella track that highlights the potential value of spontaneous human connections with strangers that are often overlooked.
2. Back Around Again
A soothing and uplifting track with acoustic guitar and percussion, this song scapture nostalgia’s power to calm anxieties and could be the perfect fit for an indie movie soundtrack.
“Some nights I sit and read stories that were written when we were kids, / nothing’s changed but everything / there are names that call you back, back around, back around again.”
The arrangement of acoustic guitar, playful percussion and angelic, layered vocals builds gradually to a crescendo, like a playground merry-go-round spinning faster and faster, before a gradual return to calm at the end.
3. Walden
Seemingly an homage to the American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s famous memoir, addressing and beseeching the text: “would you lead to the woods and leave me to discover all I can be?”.
This song is full of stunning poetic and romantic imagery, with lyrics like “show me puddles dancing round the drops where they’ve been kissed / show me illusions in the light of morning mist / show me cappuccinos sipped and leaves drinking rain / show me the moments I can smile through the pain”
Walden’s lyrics emphasise mindfulness and appreciation for the beauty in life’s everyday moments. The warm acoustic guitar complements the male vocals for a truly cosy soundscape.
5. WNDER
Cleverly omitting the second letter, the title alludes to both “wander” and “wonder.” The lyrics explore the ups and downs of life and human experience, transitioning from lightness and curiosity to deeper reflection. The tone shifts between two parts, contrasting a sense of wandering in the wilderness of the human condition with reflections of wonderment at life’s mysteries, crafting an introspective journey through consciousness and emotion.
“I wander with intention / I wander without care / I wander across consciousness / I wonder in despair…”
“I wonder ’bout the things I’ll never see / I wonder ’bout the person I’ll never be / all that isn’t me…”
Chock-full of rejuvinating hominess, soothing melodies and heartfelt storytelling, Ned and Wendy The Band’s Back Around Again is a beautiful tribute to some of life’s complexities and the simple joys that make it worthwhile.