There’s something quintessentially Seattle about the new recording by Michael and Matthew Gervais, better known as two-fifths of Seattle pop band Curtains for You — especially the way it charms without ever seeming like it’s trying.
The Gervais brothers, wearing the rather ungainly moniker of Mikey and Matty, have just unveiled Harbor Island, their first effort outside the Curtains for You umbrella. Don’t expect the seamless pop craft of a typical Curtains for You record here: Harbor Island isn’t meant to be that. It’s a treasure chest of rough diamonds, delivered with such loose-limbed ease that the beauty of the songs almost takes you by surprise.
Mikey and Matty get a little bit of help on Harbor Island — The Head and the Heart’s Charity Rose Thielen contributes some lovely violin on “Greyscale,” and “Sheryl’s Bane” gets an assist from vocalists Melissa and Stephanie Reese and Curtains bassist Nick Holman on trumpet — but by and large, it’s hand-crafted solely by both Gervais brothers. The tunes play like looser, stripped-down offshoots of Curtains’ winning pop mini-symphonies: There are luminescent melodies galore, but most of the percussion is gently-brushed drums or tambourine, and songs often amble to a close like a daydreaming kid wandering into a forest. Spare acoustic guitars and piano anchor the lion’s share of the melodies alongside Matt and Mike’s harmonies.
Those harmonies are what infuse these unpretentiously great songs with real magic. Few singers this side of Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow harmonize with the telepathic effortlessness of the Gervais brothers, and their voices intertwine magnificently throughout Harbor Island. One of the unexpected joys of the record is hearing Michael (usually a background vocalist on Curtains’ releases) take the lead on several tracks with a limber, rootsy tenor that contrasts and blends with his brother’s pure-pop croon sublimely.
Harbor Island flows so wonderfully it makes singling out individual tracks almost moot, but there are plenty of moments that’ll take your breath away. “Aurora Borealis” fuses the earthy loveliness of a Fleet Foxes song with back-masked Beatles instrumentation, and a rolling piano and snare drum offset the exquisite melancholy of Michael’s and Matthew’s duetting on “Of All The Limbs to Cling To.” The track that’ll likely occupy the most repeat time, though, is the album’s opener, “Floor Underneath Us.” With its autumnal lyrical imagery, stately piano melody, and harmonies so subtly beautiful they ache, it meets romance squarely at the intersection of sunny warmth and bittersweetness. And like any great pop song, it refuses to leave your head.
Mikey and Matty celebrate the release of Harbor Island with a show at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center (Saturday night at 8 p.m.; tickets: $10 advance/$13 at the door). The strong bill includes preceding sets by Big Sur, Ghosts I’ve Met, and Not Amy, and with the headliners joined by members of the Seattle Rock Orchestra, those rough-cut pop jewels should be just a little bit more polished onstage.
