Bobbyisms: Three lovely ladies bring their sound to Aeolian Hall

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. In music, more than in any other media or any other art form that I've found, it's possible to put on airs and fake almost everything in order to gain success. There's one crucial element that can't be faked, however, and that is heart.

Other people call this authenticity or credibility, but really it comes down to the emotion behind the music — this was a crucial factor in the birth of genres like heavy metal in the 1970s and grunge in the 1990s. Call it what you will, this particular factor can make or break an artist, album or musical movement.

Caroline Brooks is one-third of the Canadian pop trio Good Lovelies — with Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore — and never before was there a more difficult group to describe. Though the habit of defining and categorizing music can be an oft closed-minded one, it does help to convey a sense of familiarity. Not often does an act come along as diverse and textured as Good Lovelies, a mixture of country sincerity, jazz sensibilities and vocal harmonies unheard since the birth of contemporary pop in the 1940s.

"We draw a lot on those 1940s and 1950s harmonies of groups like the Mills Brothers, or the obvious one, the Andrews Sisters, that sort of close, tight harmony," said Brooks.

"It's pretty close to our hearts," she continued. "Inadvertently, I think, because we never really listened to that stuff growing up, it just sort of happened when the three of us joined voices."

While the vocal technique may have come easily, the sort of skill required to write and produce a record like Let The Rain Fall — or their other full-length releases — never does.

"We feel really proud about this record," Brooks said. "We've been really working on our songwriting; we collaborate quite a bit, and we also work quite a bit on our own and bring songs to the table that ... they're never quite done until the other two girls get their fingers in the pot, you know? It's really neat, how once we get into each other's songs, it starts to become this cohesive thing."

If the title strikes you as optimistic, you best be sure it's intentional; making as much an impression with their spirit as their music, the songs are at the same time lively and rich, uplifting and soulful, and when considered with their previous award-winning work, Good Lovelies will surely leave an indelible mark on Canadian folk music.

Let The Rain Fall was released on February 22, and is available online and in stores. Good Lovelies are bringing their CD release tour to the Aeolian Hall here in London on March 23, and tickets are only $20 with a student card. For more information on the show, visit GoodLovelies.com or AeolianHall.ca. As well, the Lovelies are on Twitter @GoodLovelies.

And as always, get the latest in music news, views and streams by following this column on Twitter @FSU_Bobbyisms and checking out the Music Recommendations discussion in our FSU social network. Have a sunny day; I'm out of words.