It must have been at least a couple months ago that I got an envelope in the mail that contained the three song Even A Little EP from Venna. The CD came in an envelope that was sealed with hand-stamped wax and a personal letter that was typed with (gasp!) a typewriter. It was almost to pretty to open and listen to, but as pretty as the packaging is, the songs are even better. “Danger; Past & Present” is a sweet indie folk pop song that’s acoustic-based with some rootsy instrumentation backing it up. “Hammock Song” is another great song that makes great use of some perfectly placed atmospheric feedback. The last song, “Lovin’s For Fools” is all vocals and guitar and sounds as if it was recorded with one microphone in an empty room. I love the room sound, I love the vocal harmonies, I love how raw it is, and I’m blown away every time I listen to this song. It’s all humanly imperfect and honest music made by real people who love what they do.

The core of Venna is the husband/wife tandem of Heather and Marky Hladish (Marky also plays in The Felix Culpa) and (for what it’s worth) they too call the suburban fringe of Chicagoland home. They’ve also got children and maybe it’s those similarities that draw me into this music. But it might also be Heather’s gorgeous vocals (think Natalie Merchant but breathier a bit more understated) and the band’s enchanting and captivating musical backdrop. The band is playing with Kid, You’ll Move Mountains (another suburban favorite of mine) at Metro Chicago in January and I’ll most certainly try to be there. You should too… and pick up a copy of the Even A Little EP here.

MP3:
Venna - Danger; Past & Present