Equally elegant and well-controlled, the vocal that graces the strings in the song “How Did You Get in My Heart” stands out as one of the finer elements to behold in the new album Timeless by Bettman & Halpin, but it’s hardly the lone gem in this treasure chest. Using melodies as their guide, Bettman & Halpin explore the great American songbook in tracks like “All of Me,” “Blue Skies,” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing” with a fearless attitude, and whether you’re a longtime fan of classic Americana or simply looking for something clean and removed from plasticized pop this spring, Timeless is an all-around impeccable listen.
The combination of string parts, from the mandolin to the guitar and the fiddle, makes for some stellar harmonies in this record, but I don’t know that I would call this an instrumental-centric LP. There’s so much from our daring singer to bask in, from her delicate touch in “Nature Boy” to the unabashed emotion behind the original piece “When We’re Together,” and even when she isn’t at the heart of the master mix it feels like she has a lot of creative control over how this tracklist unfolds from one beat to the next.
In “All of Me,” there’s a moment where the fiddle part is almost overpowering, and still the band plays forward with a steadiness that is uncompromising, suggesting surrealism that has been missing from most of the acoustic offerings I’ve heard in the last few years. Bettman & Halpin don’t mince melodies when it comes to dabbling in the avant-garde, but there’s no debating the pop sensibilities of this record. The jazz influence is undeniable, but it’s presented in such a way that even the unaware listener can get into the concept here.
Filler is the bane of every contemporary record, no matter the genre, but it isn’t something that we’re made to grapple with in Timeless. Despite the fact that there’s a lot of content and aesthetical ground covered here, it doesn’t seem like Bettman & Halpin are struggling to find their voice. They’re confident in the profile that they’re presenting in this record, which is part of the reason why they’re able to breathe as much life into “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “Blue Skies” as they are, even without the assistance of synthetic elements in the mix.
The future is looking very bright for Bettman & Halpin after analyzing what they have to offer in Timeless, and even though there is a lot of competition in the Americana revival movement at the moment, what they present in this album is so strong that it’s hard to compare their output with the general standard in their scene. Timeless isn’t without flaws, but for what I look for in an album of this kind, it’s as streamlined and accessible as they come. Bettman & Halpin are on my watch list, and I believe a lot of other critics are going to be saying the same in the months and years to come.
Chadwick Easton