Simon & Garfunkel have been reincarnated.

That is pretty much all that I need to say about The Milk Carton Kids and their 2011 release Prologue. But to be fair to them and to Daily Vault readers, I should probably write more. The comparison is unshakable, though. I am unable to listen to or think about them without immediately thinking of the early Simon & Garfunkel tune “Bleaker Street,” or something from the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme album, because of their eloquent finger style guitars and smooth choirboy harmonies. Even the writing on this album is very Simon-esque in its poetic style, although the subjects are more contemporary.

Prologue is the first studio release by the duo, which consists of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, but their second offering as a pair (their debut, Retrospect, was a live album released under the name of “Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan”). Prologue goes down very smooth, with intricate interweaving of vintage fingerpicked guitars and soaring harmonies. But much of its pace is lilting, which sets up the danger of sounding like it all just runs together as one song with no differentiation. Plus, as it only contains nine songs (with a run time of 34 minutes), the listening experience feels desirable yet fleeting.  

The stage is set with the slow, fingerpicked melodies of “Michigan,” which feels akin to other tracks on the album like “No Hammer To Hold” and “One Goodbye.” “New York” comes as close as it can to being a Paul Simon/Pete Seeger mash-up as there can be, but the lyrics and tune are pleasant and memorable. The duo really shines on “Undress The World” and “Stealing Romance,” but it is “I Still Want A Little More” that encapsulates the range that the duo can reach in writing and performance. Here, they step more into the upbeat ‘60s pop folk sound but bring to it a more mature political flavor, lamenting that there has to be something more than hurling grand ideologies and slogans around. 

With only nine songs, several beautiful melodies, and temperately layered twin guitars, Prologue will certainly leave listeners wanting a little more. Still, the release has garnered Milk Carton Kids a fair amount of attention. They have been featured on National Public Radio in the US several times, contributed songs to the film “Promised Land,” and received attention and praise on the PBS special “Nashville 2.0.” For those who are curious, the Milk Carton Kids has offered their first two albums as free downloads on their website, but as of this writing, their third album, The Ash & Clay, appears to only be available in the traditional formats for purchase.

Rating: B+

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