In 2021, Emily Frantz and Andrew Martin released their exquisite, self-titled, debut album, appearing as Watchhouse, after more than a decade of making music as Mandolin Orange. On their new album, Rituals, the duo weave their rich vocals through crystal clear layers of instrumentation, producing in the mosaic of their music the swirling patterns of familiar rituals that shape and sustain life and love. Like such rituals, Watchhouse’s emotionally resonant intimate songs brings deep comfort.
Slowly circling notes of Marlin’s electric tenor guitar introduce “Shape,” introducing the song’s melodic line that’s picked up by fiddles, piano and Frantz’s and Marlin’s vocals. The swirling instrumental variations on the song’s sonic theme evoke the eternal recurrence of the same…