The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Harmonizing at home changes life of sisters in the Staves
NEW YORK – Many nights growing up, some combination of the StaveleyTaylor sisters huddled on the staircase to listen when their parents invited friends over and took out guitars to sing Bob Dylan or Crosby, Stills and Nash songs.
They were supposed to be in bed. Let that be a lesson, parents. Kids are always absorbing things, and you never know if it will change their lives.
Today, Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-taylor perform together in their own band, the Staves, characterized by the celestial harmonies of three sisters who grew up blending their voices.
“There was always music on in the house,” said 31-year-old Camilla, the youngest of the trio. “Our parents were very musical. They could sing and harmonize and we soaked that in. I don’t really remember a time when we didn’t sing together.”
The sisters’ first gig, when Camilla was only 14, came at the Horn pub in their native Watford, a town in Hertfordshire, England. Family and friends heard them cover songs by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and Norah Jones.
“I think everyone we had ever met came down,” said Jessica, 34. “We had done our most successful show and it was the first time in our lives. We thought, ‘This is great, we can pretty much take over the world now.’”
About a decade ago, their educations complete, the sisters decided to take a stab at a career in music.
Most popular at home in England, the Staves released their third album, “Good Woman,” last month after a long and rough layoff. It’s lyrically and sonically bolder than the more stately folk sound typified by the aching beauty of “No Me, No You, No More” on a 2015 album produced by Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver.
The voices remain ever central, however.
The Haim sisters are a modern-day comparison, although Haim’s sound is sunnier, California pop-rock. A more apt reference point is the American trio of Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, first ac
tive in the 1970s.
All three Staveley-taylor sisters write music, although older sister Emily, 37, took on more of an editor’s role recently since becoming a mom in 2019 (tending to her daughter, Emily sat out a Zoom interview with The Associated Press). To avoid arguments, all songs are credited to the Staves.
Middle sister Jessica most often sings the melody, with Camilla taking the high harmonies and Emily low. They mix it up a bit on “Good Woman,” including some unison singing.
“We always kind of feel that until the others can fit into a song, only then does it become a Staves song,” Jessica said. “If not, maybe it’s for another project.”
The sisters have spent some time in the United States, moving briefly to Nashville in their early days, and to Minnesota near Vernon when they made an album with him.
“Every time we’d go and do something in America, our friends would say, ‘Have you broken America?’” Jessica said. “They think it would be like the Beatles coming in to JFK.”
The Staves weren’t planning on a
near six-year wait between albums. Their mother, Jean, died in the summer of 2018, two weeks after their grandmother died. Camilla, who had stayed behind in Minnesota, saw a long-term relationship break up and she, too, headed back to England.
“We just felt very alone and very at sea,” Jessica said. “It ended up that we just needed some time away to be a family and not worry about being a band, and to look after each other. In an annoying way, we just sort of imposed a lockdown on ourselves.”
With that break came a crisis in confidence. Did they even want to do this anymore? What kind of band did they want to be? Would Emily still want to be a part of it? Were the songs they had written any good?
They had intended to make “Good Woman” themselves, but instead called in producer John Congleton for some perspective. His enthusiasm proved infectious.
Most of these life experiences are evident in the new songs, if you listen closely enough. Pulling through selfdoubt, in a relationship or a chosen
field, are themes of the title cut, “Failure” and “Paralysed.” The luminous “Sparks” references the loss of their mother.
“When you miss someone’s presence, you don’t really think about the huge things,” Camilla said. “You think about the small things – how someone smells, hearing the keys in the door or how their footsteps sound. At the time, that was kind of the only way we could express our sadness and how we were feeling. It would take far longer for us to zoom out and be remotely philosophical about it.”
Part of what they were trying to capture on “Good Woman” was the way their band gives the Staves a fuller, more muscular sound than is often heard in their recordings.
“We pushed ourselves and pushed the limits on certain songs of where they could go,” Jessica said. “I like the feeling of confidence and boldness. It comes, I must say, from growing older and experiencing more of life and more things that cement your sense of self… I think we found more of a voice for this record.”
Need something to do while awaiting your COVID-19 vaccine? Try taking one of these new streaming flicks for a spin. They include a brain-twisting documentary, a forbidden love story, a family friendly adventure and a shot-in-massachusetts satire. Skip or stream? Read on and find out:
“I Care A Lot”
Rosamund Pike just won a Golden Globe for her turn as Marla Grayson, a cunning court-appointed guardian for dozens of vulnerable elderly wards. But Marla is not as “caring” as she seems. She’s closer to a rotten-to-the-core predator sporting a blonde bob and designer duds. She operates her barely legal operation in cahoots with judges and doctors – in which she bilks unsuspecting seniors out of their homes, cars and other valuables. Her latest charge is Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest, terrific per usual), a wealthy retiree with no living heirs and a secret past pitting Marla against Roman (Peter Dinklage), a dangerous gangster. One day, Jennifer is doing water aerobics with friends and the next a stranger appears at her door armed with a court order sending her a nursing home. The movie, which was shot in Boston and the ’burbs, marks a welcome return to the dark side for Pike, who memorably stuck it to Ben Affleck in “Gone Girl.” Playing fast and loose with the issue of elder abuse, director J Blakeson (“The Disappearance of Alice Creed”) jumbles genres of crime thriller and dark comedy. The result isn’t always cohesive, but there’s something deliciously gluttonous about watching morally bankrupt people doing despicable things. Roman, who has a thing for baked goods, shares an éclair with Marla. But will they get their just desserts? Eiza González plays Marla’s partner - professionally and personally; and Chris Messina has fun as Roman’s unscrupulous lawyer. (Streaming on Netflix. Grade: B)
“The World to Come”
Sparks fly on the frontier when two farmers’ wives realize they’re irrevocably drawn to each other. Abigail (Katherine Waterston) spends her days routinely tending to her equally withdrawn husband, Dyer (Casey Affleck). The setting is cold, dark, dank, isolated. One day, rolling in on a covered wagon is Tallie (Vanessa Kirby), the fiery free spirit with a thick mane of wavy red hair to match. The women are as different as the days toiling on the land in upstate New York are long. Tallie is calm, funny and gracious; Abigail is practical, efficient and speaks in a high diction (her journal entries provide narration.) You know what they say about opposites. “Meeting you has made my day,” they say. The women become fast friends and soon enough forbidden lovers – each escaping something. For Tallie, it’s her controlling husband, Finney (Christopher Abbott); for Abigail, it’s her grief. Mona Fastvold directs a powerful love story about female desire, devotion and devastation that could be considered groundbreaking if “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Ammonite” hadn’t already done lesbian period romances. “The World to Come” feels derivative, but still a worthy companion to those movies. (Available to rent on digital platforms. Grade: B)
“Flora & Ulysses”
Here’s one just for the kids. Lena Khan directs an adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s award-winning children’s book. The story follows 10-year-old Flora (Matilda Lawler), a cynical, comicloving girl and a squirrel named Ulysses who comes back to life with superpowers and a knack for writing poetry. A family-friendly adventure full of critter hijinks ensues as Flora works her way through her parent’s (Alyson Hannigan, Ben Schwartz) separation. The movie is typical good-hearted Disney fare full of lessons about hope, love and family that are served with some Cgi-squirrel slapstick. Thankfully, this isn’t a talking-animal movie. With a cute catch-phrase (“Holy bagumba!”), a squirrel that sticks the superhero three-point landing like a champ and a wealth of Marvel references (“I love you 3,000”), the movie is a valentine to superhero movies. “Community’s” Danny Pudi plays the villain, an animal control officer obsessed with capturing the “rabid rodent.” Even though everything unfolds as expected, I predict young kids will get their giggle on and maybe even ask for a pet squirrel. Anna Deveare Smith, Bobby Moynihan, Kate Micucci and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth co-star. (Streaming on Disney+. Grade: B-)
“A Glitch in the Matrix”
Ever have a spate of synchronicities – like your husband randomly asking one day over a baked chicken dinner if you experience these weird déjà vu moments and then the next day a screener for the new documentary “A Glitch in the Matrix” shows up in your inbox? True story ... and it creeped me out. The movie, from acclaimed documentarian Rodney Ascher (“Room 227”) explores the possibility that we are living in a version of “The Matrix.” And so, something like the conversation with my husband wasn’t just a mere coincidence, it’s a clue, some would say, that points to an alternate existence. Ditto for waking up from a dream with intense emotions. Framed around clips of a 1977 speech that science-fiction author Philip K. Dick delivered about simulation theory to an aghast audience in France, the movie posits that life as we know could very well be an artificial reality. It’s a lot of brain-twisting science, technology, philosophy and conspiracy to process, but it’s totally riveting. Asher weaves popular culture like the Minecraft video game, clips from movies including “The Matrix,” “Minority Report” and “The Adjustment Bureau,” interviews with Elon Musk, and anonymous talking heads disguised as digital avatars to present his case. Stick around for the movie’s final revelation – it’s a whopper, a tragic result of what happens when this worldview is taken too far. (Available to rent on digital platforms. Grade: B)