Dala - Everyone Is Someone
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:02AM 
Some voices were just meant to be together. We realized that pretty quickly when listening to Everyone Is Someone, the third album of striking folk/pop from Toronto's Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, AKA Dala. It's actually fitting that the their name should come from combining the last syllable of their first names since their sound is so dependent on the intricate juxtaposition of their lovely voices in harmony. Like The Indigo Girls, The Webb Sisters or fellow Canadians Madison Violet, Dala travel musically amidst contemporary folk landscapes that tap into the traditions of the past, in this case an appealing mix of fluid Everly Brother-ish soaring, catchy pop melodies, Brit-folk acoustic jangle and some 70's Laurel Canyon pop a la Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash and Fleetwood Mac.

There's nothing too mysterious or edgy lurking amidst the mostly luminous, hummable tracks that make up Everyone Is Someone. In fact, part of Dala's appeal is the way songs such as "Lonely Girl" or "Levi Blues" simply lay themselves out without a hint of pretense or dark irony, just sweetly nuanced melodies delivered with an unequivocal joy of two young women who simply love singing together. Live, as they proved at this year's Newport Folk Festival, Dala can make the most of just one guitar and two voices (listen here). For Everyone the production is fleshed out with some tasteful instrumental touches and orchestration but there's never any doubt that the vocals should be smartly front and center. Check out the video for "Horses" after the jump...
Dala - "Horses" (from the album Everyone Is Someone)
Dala - "Lonely Girl" (from the album Everyone Is Someone)











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