All This Could Kill You, the debut LP from husband-and-wife/mother-and-father team Ben + Vesper, is rooted in the profound minutiae of life with children: These are American folk songs, about feeding kids on a bloated credit card, remembering caustic childhood taunts, putting books to sleep, daughters, shoddy report cards, a square meal and a round of drinks. Ben + Vesper's jangly weave of guitar, accordion, organ, piano, and drums might be richer and bigger than their acoustic guitar-and-campfire predecessors, but these are songs for everyperson, tough, frank, and, miraculously, never the least bit precious.
Occasionally, Ben + Vesper's doting coos and warm freak-folk(ish) pop can prove reminiscent of other (equally whimsical) boy-girl outfits-- the Handsome Family and Ida, in particular-- but All This Could Kill You (which follows a seven-song EP, More Questions, released earlier this year) is boosted into distinction by Danielson/Danielson Famile mastermind Daniel Smith's rich, cuddly production: All 13 songs here are impeccably recorded, tender, balanced, and gorgeously organic. Smith's label, Sounds Familyre, is releasing the record, and elsewhere on the album, Smith's fingerprints are equally indelible: All This was recorded in Smith's studio (the New Jerusalem Recreation Room, deep in Smith and the Ben + Vesper's home state of New Jersey), and incorporates the contributions of plenty of Smith's pals and former collaborators, including Famile member Elin (also Smith's wife) on backing vocals, Famile member David (also Smith's brother) on drums, and longtime Famile accomplice Sufjan Stevens, who offers up banjo, recorder, piano, oboe, percussion, and backing vocals. Likewise, Ben's big brother and childhood friend-- Josh Stamper and Chris Weisman, respectively-- add arrangements and man various noisemakers, from guitar to marimba. All that friend-and-family closeness leads to songs that feel especially easy, which each musical piece slipping into simple, hand-holding harmony.
While the record's melodies are, for the most part, uniformly sweet and memorable, Ben's big, booming vocals (offset, naturally, by Vesper's breathy murmur) provide a welcome shot of weird: on opener "Door to Door", Ben bellows "They will reach out and hold on to you/ Go on, introduce yourself or they will do it for you"-- and while he may be speaking about any number of benign things, the line turns more dark and sinister with each deep, baritone rumble, the kind of warning you're sure to heed. "Rockaway Twp." is a sharp acoustic/accordian throwdown (that half-sounds as if it could have been plucked from the new Vetiver record), a rare piece of beauty culled from a town better known for its strip malls (that ends, appropriately, with the caveat "I wanna live in the country"). All This Could Kill You is packed with grim observations and impressive sonic flourishes-- enough to make you wish you had more talented friends.
