Tasseomancy at Mod Club (722 College), Wednesday (June 17), doors 7 pm. $22. NXNE.
Tasseomancy’s new release, Palm Wine Revisited, is technically their second full-length album, but in some ways it feels like more of a debut than 2011’s Ulalume. That earlier recording effectively captured the darker aspects of Sari and Romy Lightman’s intimate indie folk songs, but at times the influence of producers Taylor Kirk and Simon Trottier of Timber Timbre overshadowed the twin sisters’ personalities.
“I think that last record was far more collaborative than anyone had expected it would be,” Sari Lightman says from her Montreal home. “I think it was less of a Tasseomancy record and more of a collaborative record between us and Timber Timbre.”
Palm Wine Revisited is hardly light and fluffy, but there’s a much wider range of influences on display, and it’s harder to call it indie folk thanks to the synthesizers, steel pan drums and rhythmic sense that their current bandmates, Johnny Spence and Evan Cartwright, bring to the table. The steel drum in particular was a texture the Lightman sisters knew they wanted to put in a central role.
“We found a steel pan about five years ago, and we were both really drawn to it. Not necessarily for the tropical or Caribbean influences, but more because I thought it was very cool to have an instrument that was melodic but also percussive.”
That increased focus on percussion and rhythm is in part a result of the experiences the pair had as backup singers with Toronto synth-pop band Austra. While musically very separate from their work as Tasseomancy, playing in Austra gave them a new perspective on performing live and writing music.
“That was kind of why we originally joined Austra in the first place. We were both feeling a bit weighed down by the music we were making as a folk duo and wanted to try something new. It was a really fun experience to join a band that we could dance to onstage.
“We wanted to create a fuller sound for ourselves as well – and something that could make people move.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles
