If siblings are said to make the sweetest of harmonies, might married couples not be far behind? Milwaukee-area folkies Tom & Barb Webber’s latest album, Fragile, doesn’t find them singing together quite enough. Here, one partner is more apt to sing background vocals on choruses and bridges for the other’s lead vocals. Barb’s more plaintive tone joining her other half’s gruffer approach number among Fragile’s finest moments, but there’s plenty else to commend the project.
Intended as a conceptual piece, each song represents a step in a journey toward emotional healing and wholeness, including acknowledgement of one’s brokenness, emotional support from a loving friend, rejection of material pursuits, honesty with oneself, generosity and gratitude for life’s small pleasures and the graces others provide. The Webbers imbue their concept with memorable melodies and the occasional electrified instrumentation—a smidgen of grinding guitar and a hypnotically jazzy bass complement their largely acoustic approach.
