The Summer That Changed

The Bedsit Poets feature the combined talents of singer/songwriters Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe and their album The Summer That Changed is a small pleasure for fans of gentle and lovely pop music, especially those who dig male/female vocal harmonies. As the name of the band implies, the sound of the record is intimate and built around acoustic guitars, those excellent vocal harmonies, and gentle percussion; the production by Pete and Maura Kennedy (of the Kennedys) is perfectly low-key and subtle. Rogers and Thorpe have wonderfully complementary voices, his stately and slightly off-kilter, hers sweet and strong, and they blend them well in harmony or counterpoint on melancholy and atmospheric ballads like "February Kisses," "The Summer That Changed," and their stunning cover of the Everly Brothers' desolate lament "Don't Ask Me to Be Friends." When the mood and tempo rise above languid, like on the chiming folk-rocker "Reach for the Sky," the soft rock power ballad "Let It Rain," which sounds like it could be a lost Fleetwood Mac gem, or the Yo La Tengo-esque "Round and Round," the duo sounds great, too. This is the kind of record that could, and probably will be, overlooked. It really shouldn't be, as it's a well-crafted, melodic, and moving album, perfect for melancholy days when you have nothing to do and nowhere to go.