Elle & Toni – I've Just Seen a Face

In the last week I've become a fan of Elle & Toni:

Elle Cordova (formerly known as Reina del Cid) and Toni Lindgren are indie folk musicians and songwriters who write and cover americana, folk, traditional folk, and folk rock music. Their song-a-week video series, "Sunday Mornings HQ" has amassed a devoted and diverse following made up of everyone from jamheads to college students to white-haired intelligentsia. Elle started this channel in 2007, sharing original songs and pop covers. 2011 she began collaborating with Toni Lindgren, who is the lead guitarist on all four of the studio albums released by the duo under the Reina del Cid moniker. The Sunday Morning videos also feature a rotating cast of bandmates, special guests, and occasional random bystanders. Make sure to subscribe and enable all post notifications!

I discovered them through Language Log, one of my favorite blogs, which posted a video that Elle Cordova did about fonts:

"Who is this brilliant lady? said I to myself. So I went YouTube and found that she was part of a duo, Elle & Toni. Since then I've watched, I don't know, 10, 15, 20, or more of their videos. I like them all, though some are better than others. I figured one day I need to do a post where I comment on a half-dozen of their tracks.

But this isn't that day. I'm only going to comment on one track, the Beatles tune listed in the title of this post.

They start with a little banter. The tune starts at 0:34. Elle plays a leisurely strum on her 12-string guitar while Toni does an unassuming lead on her 6-string. Elle is lead vocalist while Toni is lead guitarist in the duo.

0:46 – Elle begins singing along with a more vigorous strum. Toni does something else, I don't know quite how to describe it. Say it's a multifaceted accompaniment – too polysyllabic, I know, in contrast with Toni's playing. A strum here, another there, a short lead phrase, a strum. She settles into a strum leading to...

1:11 – the chorus, both strumming, with Toni singing harmony. Now, listen again up to this point and pay attention to everything that's going on as best you can. There's a wonderful and subtle variety of musical textures. Nothing that hits you over the head, but everything in place, like high quality marquetry on an antique gaming table.

1:18 – 2nd verse, Elle sings lead, both strumming the same rhythm. Tight.

1:31 – chorus again, pretty much the same as before.

1:37 - 3rd verse, Toni on lead guitar, Elle accompanying. Notice how Toni begins her lead with a simple motif which she then repeats several times. Then she does other things. Time for you to do some work and notice what she does for yourself.

1:50 – Repeat, with a more chordal lead.

2:03 – And here we are back to the chorus, just like before. Harmonized vocals over a synchronized strum.

2:10 – Another verse. Elle on vocal again, but she's playing a subtle muted strum while Toni plays a bass-like line on guitar. Yet another musical texture. Notice the last two-note phrase in Elle's vocal where she takes the line up a 3rd, singing a harmony part to a "ghost" melody. We all know the song, we've heard them sing two verses so the melody is securely lodged in our brains. That little bit of ghosting is perfect.

2:20 – A final chorus. Just like the others. Musical home base. Repeat onece, twice, and we're out. Notice Toni's final little harmonized guitar lead. They end on a final strum.

These women are masters of low-key musical construction. I suppose that's what fascinates me about their music. It is very well constructed, but not ostentatious.

Note that they are not without humor. Here's a little thing they did for Halloween three years ago: