Judd and Maggie
Issue #25
Subjects (RCA Victor)
By Callye Morrissey
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 4:21pm
While brother-sister musical duos are nothing new, rarely do they sound like they could be singing and playing as lovers rather than siblings. Perhaps The Carpenters were on the brink of sounding too into one another, but there was something about Karen's drumming that pushed these notions aside.
In the case of Judd and Maggie, if one didn't know they’d been making music together since childhood, one could mistake the soft piano melodies and sappy adult contemporary-ish style as yearning love songs for one another. But make no mistake, this Maryland-based duo are serious about their craft. Their 12-song debut contains more instrumentation than two people can produce at once, thanks to extra studio players. The slick production of Subjects is in part due to the legendary father-son team of Lenny (James Taylor and Rufus Wainwright) and Joey Waronker (Beck and Elliott Smith), who also lends his drumming skills to the album. At times, Judd and Maggie sound similar to the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham allotment of Fleetwood Mac, especially on the opener "Perfectly."
Although her older brother gets first billing in the band, Maggie shares nearly equal vocal duties. With her primarily on bass and Judd on guitar, the siblings exude hints of the Beatles on tracks such as "Big Lights" and "Closer."
Subjects is a great starting point. Hopefully, the tension that often holds musical siblings back won't disrupt Judd and Maggie's new careers.
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Judd and Maggie's Myspace page
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