On the Verge: The Mastersons

Fresh off the road with Steve Earle, clad in jeans, a white scarf, and black hats; the husband and wife duo The Mastersons joined us for an On The Verge this afternoon.

Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore released their debut as a band, Birds Fly South, back in April. When asked about composing the songs, Chris says that sometimes they work on their own and then combine their works to be a complete song; sometimes they work together to create melody and lyrics. When they were on a 105-day-trip around one and a half years ago, they started to prepare this album.

In their first song “Crash Test”, they sing together from the very beginning to the end. Perhaps due to their close bond, they co-operate with each other so well that the harmony seems like one unified dual-tone. In the second song, Eleanor plays the violin. Together with Christ’s guitar, the song “The Other Shoe” is both classical and poppy, with the hints of Regina Spektor, Steve Earle, Son Volt and all their other collaborations throughout the years.

By Chen Xu

Photo Courtesy of Paul Robert Wright/The Mastersons