Family Folk Duo Alright Alright Release New Full-Length Album Crucible

Husband and wife Seth and China Kent are well on their way to adding new life and complexity to the concept of the “family band.” The Kents, better known as Colorado-based duo Alright Alright, have been hard at work creating orchestral-folk for the open-minded and poetry for the broken-hearted with their new album, Crucible. Full of contrast—between Seth and China’s vocal stylings, organic and synthesized instrumental tones, and the very real ups and downs that come with day to day life—Crucible tests the limits of genre and experiments with boundaries, something that Ben Wysocki (The Fray) leaned into and expanded upon in his role of producer. PopMatters called “Don’t Worry” from Crucible an “ode for unity in troubling times” and American Songwriter praised the duo’s “decision not to retreat in the safety of folk music’s purposefully polished string plucks, angelically harmonizing vocals, and lush drapes of billowy reverb” on the head-bobbing single, “Trans Am.” In an interview with The Vinyl District, Alright Alright touched on everything from the band’s incarnation to youthful, sneaked listening sessions with the Allman Brothers Band and Bob Dylan late at night after parents had gone to sleep, and their favorite Colorado Public Radio station even shared their love for the band. Fans can stream Crucible in its entirety right now and order a physical copy from Alright Alright at this link.

Crucible, Alright Alright’s second album, depicts a landscape of locations and experiences filtered through the band’s distinctive sense of beauty. The album opens with its first single, “Over the Edge,” a laid-back, moving track demonstrating the band’s talent for depicting desperation and hope at the same time. Crucible’s content ranges from an adaptation of a poem by Anne Overstreet to the imaginary story of a real Trans Am to the “unsexy” theme of midlife crisis to the very real sorrows of losing a child and letting go of a dream. “The release of control in the face of life’s utter instability and unpredictability might be the actual theme of this record,” says China. “Don’t Worry,” a beautiful piano-driven single featuring lilting vocals, summarizes the band’s philosophy on getting through the tough parts of life; “Find the fullness / then fall apart.” The album’s title refers to the vessel designed to withstand extremes; a tool used to change and clean things. It’s also a word for a severe trial or test. Throughout Crucible, Alright Alright’s characteristic textured harmonies and careful attention to production detail create a nuanced, cohesive album that is about—more or less—life and death. Two of the album’s tracks were finalists for the 2020 Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition; “Missouri Calling,” which follows the thoughts of a Denver homeless woman through balletic vocal melodies set against a tapestry of strings, and “Champagne,” the album’s stunning final track about moments of despair and wrenching loss. “Champagne” reveals some of Alright Alright’s darkest, most stark, and also most uplifting moments, true to the theme of the crucible and the band’s belief in the good at the end of everything.

“Give me peace or give me strife / softest touch or edge of knife / through the bliss and through the pain / I’ll find a way to still remain / I’ll find a way to drink champagne”

Crucible Tracklisting:

Over The Edge

Are We Gonna Make It

Don’t’ Worry

Trying To Be Free

Missouri Calling

Left But Not Arrived

Trans Am

Some Dreams

Mercy

Muscatine

Champagne