Oh, good! You found it. Steal This Track, your weekly opportunity to abscond with great Colorado-made music — absolutely free of charge and guilt — moved from Tuesdays to Mondays. This means you now to get to start and end your week with me — with on Monday and on Friday. Lucky you.
This week, we’re excited to bring you an unreleased taste of the piano-driven, string-laden femme pop of . Get ready to steal!
The Raven and the Writing Desk is still relatively new to Colorado, but has already made a name for itself. Singer/songwriter Julia LiBassi and guitarist Scott Conroy moved to Denver just last fall. They’d planned to work on songs, slowly assemble a band and mature slowly, but thankfully, they lost control.
In no time at all, LiBassi and Conroy united with bassist Ryan Self (, , drummer Scott Sajdak, percussionist Neil Mitchell and violinist Adrienne Short (, ) and LiBassi’s songs began to evolve from quiet piano ballads to full-blown pop-rock outbursts.
The quintet was invited to play the 2010 UMS, and a short time later, found itself recording with the award-winning John Macy at Macy Sound Studios. The Raven and the Writing Desk just wrapped up “Recidivist,” its debut album, and the results are impressive. A lineup like this — with prominent strings and a powerful female frontwoman — runs the risk of letting every song sound the same, but “Recidivist” has enough twists and turns to keep it engaging and surprising. Quiet, mournful ballads like “Firefly” contrast sharply with dark romps like “Wooden Lover,” which you can steal right here, right now.
Keep an eye out for more details on the Raven and the Writing Desk’s formal CD release, and be sure to catch the band opening for on Nov. 3 at the Larimer Lounge, and at the Hi-Dive on Nov. 17.
