Aline & Wes - Lavender Lemonade

Aline & Wes

​Lavender Lemonade
self-released; 2019

4.0 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Aline & Wes is a Seattle based soulful rock duo that recently released Lavender Lemonade. Prior to collaborating they played in Seattle as well as other cities. Lavender Lemonade contains four songs and displays some of their talent.

The duo often sings together but at least within the mix Aline’s vocals are the lead. It’s as if Wes is creating a bed of additional emotion underneath her vocals. Take for instance the opener “Work is Never Done.” The song starts with fuzzy guitar, driving drums and striking piano rhythm that mimics the energy you might hear from Arcade Fire. The vocal harmonies stay and continue to blossom when the breakdown occurs and when it picks back up.

Up next is “Place to Belong” which is similar to the previous song which contains a dichotomy between clean piano and fuzzy guitars. The song is undeniably catchy and infectious with a good amount of kinetic energy. Around the two-minute mark they break into this haunting post-rock sounding section that was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

“Still Want More” has a distinctly different flavor. The soul aspects really come out here and it’s a slow burn of a ballad. There is plenty of space for both their vocals to soar on this song against the more warm orchestral elements and spaghetti western guitar. The song builds to a crescendo when they sing “It’s never enough” which is the most emotionally resonant moment on the EP.

They end with “The Constructs of Time” which rocks. This is more in the vein of bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keys. They absolutely crush the vocals.

Aline’s vocals certainly have a soulful affectation that I associate with a lot of prolific jazz/rock singers. Amy Winehouse is arguably the most glaring example that comes to mind but there are plenty of others that go back decades.

​The duo packs a lot of punch. Recorded music is always an approximation when dealing with this energy. Suffice it to say I surmise the duo put on a powerful live performance. They certainly captured that with these songs. Take a listen.

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