March 6, 2016

Quilt’s Dreamy New Mind Excursion


Quilt
Plaza
Mexican Summer

Courtesy of Mexican Summer

Singer-guitarists Anna Fox Rochinski and Shane Butler, who contribute the lion’s share of the material on Quilt’s arresting third album (with solid drummer John Andrews filling out the lineup) are clearly talented writers, but the sheer gorgeous sound of the band is so intoxicating that it almost doesn’t matter. Like its predecessor, the engrossing Held in Splendor, Plaza offers a dreamy mind excursion, mixing soothing male-female vocal harmonies with swirling folk-rock guitars and strings for a potent escapist cocktail. Evoking the late-’60s, when soft pop and loopy psychedelia intersected to delicious effect, mesmerizing tracks like “O’Connor’s Barn” and “Eliot St.” make a twee first impression before the luscious melodies kick in, and you’re hooked. If Plaza sometimes feels like a decadent indulgence, so be it!

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At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

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So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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