Austin singer-songwriter duo Penny and Sparrow move from delicate folk to rough-edged Americana on their new album, Let a Lover Drown You. Vocalist Andy Baxter and composer Kyle Jahnke met while roommates at the University of Texas at Austin. The intensity that comes with living together contributes to the closeness and tightness of their harmonies, which have been compared on occasion to Simon and Garfunkel. “Makeshift” highlights these talents brilliantly and leans toward the folk end of Penny and Sparrow’s musical spectrum.
Penny and Sparrow’s Let a Lover Drown You releases March 11th and is available for pre-order.
Andy Baxter tells PopMatters about “Makeshift”: “Anything “makeshift” is a stand-in for the real McCoy. I think the big idea behind this song is that it tries to say true and unpopular things very loudly. Tt urges you to second, third, and fourth guess your emotions and it begs an attentive listener to honestly measure all the poetry they meet in life. Because the trouble with poets is that they can say bullshit so prettily that we eat it up and treat it like gospel. And since we all eat our fair share of lies, the chorus tries to remind you to let yourself off the hook. The flesh and bone time we have isn’t gonna be perfect. So give yourself grace & undo the top button of your collar. “Make amends” when you blow it and remind yourself that this makeshift existence of ours is built to bend and break and (somehow) still be ok.”