December 05, 2003
The Times UK
The Innocence Mission
Befriended (Agenda)
ESSENTIALLY the husband-and-wife team of Don and Karen
Peris, the Innocence Mission have been releasing low-key folk-rock records for 14 years. Joni Mitchell is a fan and she won’t be disappointed by a sixth album that dispenses with drums and puts Peris’s pure, fragile vocals at the centre of a set of simple, graceful songs. Poetic lyrics about seasons changing and childhood memories are a touch
twee, but with lush guitar work and shimmering keyboards, Befriended is a haunting trip back to a time when pop was more about emotion than money.
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