Kris Delmhorst and the Winterpills Bring Songs of Harmony at Local Coffeehouse

NEWTOWN SQUARE—People cross paths over and over again, coming together at just the right moment. headliner Kris Delmhorst recalled playing at the Newtown Square coffeehouse around this time last year, just in time for spring. She also toured with opening act the Winterpills about two years ago. Both performers joked about living only an hour away from each other in Massachusetts, but it took a spring show in the suburbs of Pennsylvania to bring them back together, literally and musically.

The opener Winterpills performed a duo show consisting of members Phillip Price and Flora Reed. These first timers at Burlap and Bean fit in perfectly. Their lyrics have the quiet irony that flourishes in the Philly folk scene.

"I've always felt that what we were doing was playing loud, epic rock songs played very, very quietly. In the past, I used to play lullabies at punk-rock volumes. I guess it's a pendulum," explained vocalist and guitarist Price.

The band's latest album Tuxedo of Ashes is their fourth studio work. Their bi-polar sound reflects a range of strong guitars combined with delicate harmonies or vice-versa. There is a constant element of truthful, sometimes ironic, sorrow but over the past half decade, the band has evolved.

"Our sound has expanded outward like a slow-motion battery explosion. Also, when the band began, we were drawing songs from a pool that had been written amidst tragedy (deaths, breakups) and the music reflected that, but, thankfully, tragedy has faded, and the songs have changed their focus to other things," said Price.

While some may find lyrics like "the last thing I tasted was a mouthful of your scorn," not to be very uplifting, Price feels there is a sense of catharsis through writing songs that aren't always "happy."

"I don't always write from a sad place but, for me, it is a richer source of conflict, storylines, characters–drama," said Price. "My goal as a songwriter is first to entertain, and then to draw you into a drama, a storyline of some kind, as abstract as it may be at times, or poetically obtuse. I suppose 'sad songs' is a niche that we have found ourselves in, but it's not a dishonest niche for me as a songwriter. I have always written from places of pain. It's just where the wellspring is. It's where the catharsis is."

Delmhorst, the headliner for the evening, has a discography that runs back to 1998. Her sweet, husky voice pulls you in like a whisper. Delmhorst's poetic lyrics are strong, truthful, and at times empowering. During one of her opening numbers, she strapped on an extremely unique and beautiful electric guitar, which was handmade in Vermont and given to her as a birthday gift.

The top bass strings bellowed for the opening of "Weathervane." Her voice matched the subtle strength in the lyrics, "No more weathervane, I'm gonna be the wind, no more spin around."

She laid the groundwork for her last album, Shotgun Singer, off the clock and off the grid. Delmhorst borrowed a cabin from a friend and over time began developing the songs on the album.

"I wanted to take time pressure out of the equation of recording, which is usually a huge presence because you are paying by the hour or day," she explained.

Delmhorst felt that sometimes a traditional recording schedule prevented her from experimenting more because she didn't want to waste time. She set up a small recording studio in the cabin and spent about a month's worth of time over the year writing and recording the core of each song. 

"I would record it usually with guitar or piano, and then voice. Then I would just take everything away but the voice and then build around it. I kind of built a little sonic world around it," she said. After each song was as far as she felt she could take it, Delmhorst would then call upon other musicians to expand the sonic world and polish each song.

Saturday's show was filled with a very adoring and welcoming audience. Delmhorst played a few songs off of Shotgun Singer and even took a request from the crowd. She also gave them a taste of her latest project, which will be released this summer.

Delmhorst pulled together a few of her favorite musician friends to record a Cars cover album. She believes the album stays very true to the originals, but by using "super organic" instruments, she was able to create a unique sound. The crowd loved her rendition of the Cars' "Magic," which sounded more like a lullaby than an 80's pop song. 

Since they had performed together once before, Delmhorst invited Price and Reed back up to the stage during her set. The three performers played as if they knew each other for years, and never lost touch. Delmhorst's encore connected even more with the crowd as the audience softly sang backup for her. It was an evening of musicians and fans interweaving, harmonizing and coming together at just the right moment.