Oh the holiday hangover, not the alcoholic kind, but the kids-on-ChineseNY-holiday-week-off-sleeping-late variety. So difficult to get out of bed when the alarm rings at 7am.

But now EO and YO  are off at school and I’m connecting to a caffeine drip, revising my To-Do list – projects almost completed, ongoing, troublesome – and listening to the gorgeous sounds of Sea Stars.

http://seastars.bandcamp.com/album/zodiac-ep

They’re a duo – Katie Gray and Kurt Baumann – based in southern California by way of London, Austin and points beyond. Prior to Sea Stars, they were known mainly as solo artists, but came together a few years back to record and perform as a pair. Zodiac is their debut EP. On their website they use words like ‘magical’, ‘celestial’ and ‘stardust’ to describe their music but don’t let the fairy talk put you off. Yes, it’s super mellow, yes a tad Deepak, but it’s also a fantastic pairing of voices. The harmonies, especially on ‘The Maker’, draw you in, and you get the feeling they’ve made a real effort to blend their voices, to make that a focus of the music, not just an afterthought. I also like how Gray’s voice is feminine without being too sweet – a robust counterpoint to Baumann’s tender, smoky sound.

Sea Stars is only four songs in to their journey – a full-length album should be coming out this Spring. I can’t wait to hear more.