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BY JOSEPH NEFF<\/a> | JUNE 3, 2020<\/p> Singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Olson is a co-founder of The Jayhawks, which makes him something of a big deal in the Alt-country scene, but lately he\u2019s been focusing his attention on records in collaboration with his wife, the Norwegian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ingunn Ringvold. Magdalen Accepts the Invitation<\/em><\/a> is their third album together, available June 5 on LP and digital (distributors may even have a CD or two) via Fiesta Red Records<\/a>. It offers what the couple describe as their \u201cDeath Valley isolation chamber folk\/pop,\u201d a sound that\u2019s sharply honed as the duo is co-billed for the first time.<\/strong><\/p> The non-Jayhawks portion of Mark Olson\u2019s discography begins in 1997 with a self-titled album by the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, a group that continued into the new century through a series of records that ceased in 2005 with the end of Olson\u2019s marriage to Creekdipper Victoria Williams. Olson\u2019s The Salvation Blues<\/em> followed in 2007, with a duo album with Jayhawk Gary Louris, Ready for the Flood<\/em>, emerging the next year.<\/p> Olson also returned to the Jayhawks for a stretch that produced Mockingbird Time<\/em> in 2011, though he persisted as a \u201csolo\u201d artist as well, releasing Many Colored Kite<\/em> the year before. Those quotes around solo aren\u2019t intended to belittle the level of Olson\u2019s input on these documents of his own creative vision but rather simply denotes that he seems to thrive on familiarity in collaboration.<\/p> This is evidenced through his work with Ingunn Ringvold, which obviously includes their prior albums together, Good-bye Lizelle<\/em> in 2014 and Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun<\/em> in 2017, but also stretches back to The Salvation Blues<\/em>, on which she plays acoustic guitar, and includes a songwriting credit on Ready for the Flood<\/em> and instrumental input (djembe and percussion) on the Olson-Louris tour CD Live @ Eddie\u2019s Attic | Decatur, Georgia | February 13, 2009<\/em>.<\/p> She even plays harmonium on the title track to Mockingbird Time<\/em>, with this list of her contributions having expanded and intensified over time so that Magdalen Accepts the Invitation<\/em> reflects Olson\u2019s observation that the pair are answering a calling to be a full-on husband-and-wife songwriting team. A big part of how they pull this off comes right down to the vocal harmonies that are present throughout the album.<\/p> While the intermingling of voices helped shape the worthiness of their earlier two records, the sheer vocal beauty is heightened across these ten songs and right away in \u201cPipestone I Won\u2019t Be Back,\u201d though the track also immediately establishes Ringvold\u2019s prowess as a multi-instrumentalist. For this LP, she is credited with Armenian Qanon, dulcimer, djembe, Mellotron, and Chamberlain; I suspect it\u2019s the Mellotron that she\u2019s playing on \u201cPipestone I Won\u2019t Be Back.\u201d Its tones deepen that chamber folk\/pop weave mentioned in the intro above.<\/p> There are also some gently plucked strings, briefly peppering the midsection of the song and returning in its waning moments, that\u2019re more than a little reminiscent of Love\u2019s Forever Changes<\/em>. The peaceful psych-folk-pop of \u201cYou\u2019ll Find the Morning\u201d only strengthens this comparison, particularly at just before 1:15, when the drums subtly kick in (this motif recurs, and a little more boldly, later in the track), though it should be said that Magdalen <\/em>Accepts the Invitation<\/em> is a smaller-scaled record, one by design that\u2019s vividness underscores the assurance of its maker\u2019s combined vision.<\/p> \u201cExcelsior Park,\u201d offers chiming strings and swirling keys anchored with djembe hand drumming as the singing, with Olson in the lead here and Ringvold accenting, fills out the tune. Next, the Brit-folky faux strings in \u201cChristina Hi\u201d usher in grand sweep, as Mellotrons and Chamberlains often do, while simultaneously reinforcing the album\u2019s relatively modest construction (Magdalen <\/em>was recorded across a summer at Thermometer Shelter Studios near Death Valley National Park).<\/p> \u201cApril in Your Cloud Garden\u201d redirects into almost country-rock territory courtesy of a little guitar strum and twang, not a surprise given Olson\u2019s overall background, but when considered in the context of his albums with Ringvold, the style does stick out a tad. But that aura of string hover is still present, and that\u2019s as cool as ice. The cut segues into the folky sweetness of \u201c31 Patience Games,\u201d though the strumming remains appealingly sturdy.<\/p> With \u201cChildren of the Street Car,\u201d they blend more of that third album Arthur Lee-like pizzicato lushness with an elevated harmoniousness of voice that supports the comparisons to the Mamas and the Papas and Peter, Paul, and Mary. What\u2019s especially attractive is the lack of any preciousness in execution. This gets reinforced in \u201cSilent Mary,\u201d where baroque underpinning deepens the prettiness of tune that\u2019s delivered with hearty verve.<\/p> Coming late, \u201cElmira\u2019s Fountain\u201d taps into that Brit folk sensibility once more, but in an unexpected twist, the first few seconds of the final track \u201cBlack Locust\u201d reminded me just a smidge of Blind Faith\u2019s \u201cCan\u2019t Find My Way Home.\u201d That\u2019s nice! And hey, the same can be said for the entirety of Magdalen Accepts the Invitation<\/em> as Olson and Ringvold have hit a level of comfort and confidence that sparks sustained pleasure in the listening. In a time where beauty moves can be a cherished commodity, this album is a fucking treasure chest.<\/p><\/figure><\/div>