Madison Violet's third album finds the Canadian duo in reflective mood, weary from life on the road and affected by personal loss. Given their acoustic sound, vocal harmonies, and beautiful song-writing, this actually provides the ingredients for a very good album.
Brenley and Lisa's music is classified as folk, but there is an equal measure of country. Add in a Celtic twist, heartfelt lyrics, and two great voices that complement each other wonderfully, and you have Madison Violet.
Songs like "Ransom" tackle the rigours and less glamourous side of touring the world most of the year - endless travelling, mixed receptions, and so on. Having seen them live, I hope they are not genuinely too down on this. They put on a great show.
Another topic for this album is the death of Brenley's brother - a man who led a troubled life before being killed at the age of 45. "Crying" is a tender song urging him to put his head on his sister's shoulder and let himself cry. Desperately sad, "The Woodshop" describes how her family handles their loss. The woodshop in question is the place where her father uses a handy piece of wood to craft an urn for his son's ashes - "and now your father's building you a box". I would call that a typically quirky touch, if it weren't for the fact that it is a true story.
No Fool For Trying is a beautiful, moving collection of songs. The only reason for holding back on the fifth star is that I found the mood a little relentless. There is some relief from the melancholic mood with one or two more upbeat numbers like "Lauralee" (a song that firmly establishes their country credentials). But there is a livelier, wittier side to Madison Violet that doesn't show much in this album.
In these days of mass-produced music, manufactured groups, and choreographed performances, it is great to see two genuinely talented singer-songwriters who are prepared to travel the world with their guitars, fiddles, and banjos to ply their trade. If you like this album, you have to see them in concert.