SIMPLE HARMONIES
Style SA, November/December 2008

The hauntingly beautiful harmonies of The Yearlings' Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson put SA's outstanding local talent alongside the world's best at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival.

Described as a root/alternative country duo, The Yearlings' Robyn (Bob) Chalklen loves the simplicity of country music but resists the label. "Country music is deceptively simple, soothing and there's a lot of space in there. That's what I like. I grew up in the Adelaide Hills with lots of trees and space. Chris has called us Alternative Folk.
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REVIEWS FOR "HIGHWAY DANCING"

The Weekend Australian Review, May 10-11, 2008

Highway Dancing
The Yearlings
Mixmasters Records
****

"The Yearlings' previous albums have hinted at great things to come and Highway Dancing may just be it. Recorded in Brooklyn over four days and featuring members of New York band Ollabelle, this is indeed a fully operational Yearlings. From the opening title track, Robyn Chalklen's laid-back, fragile vocals effortlessly counterpoint partner Chris Parkinson, particularly when he takes the lead on tracks such as Will You Be Ready? and Sheets of the Night. Impressive also is the songwriting, and Don't Feel Kind and Precious Time are standouts. The presence of guitarist Larry Campbell, fresh from producing Levon Helm's latest, Dirt Farmer, permeates the album, putting this Yearlings effort into another league. From the pedal steel on The Waiting Song Campbell goes on to provide everything from dobro to fiddle to mandolin. While the wider scope that additional musicians afford give The Yearlings a chance to spread their wings, the most obvious impression throughout Highway Dancing is the great time The Yearlings have had putting it together."
Tom Jellett

Live Review @ The Vanguard - Drum Media

"The Yearlings took to the stage fresh from a recording stint in New York. Their well-blended voices and masterfully crafted songs such as Walk On and Sheets Of The Night created a sense of ethereal gentleness. Sweet and atmospheric, this duo proved that you don't have to be from the US to capture the spirit of boundless Americana."
Donne Resio - Vanguard Live Review, Drum Media, 2008

Sydney Morning Herald

"The two previous albums from Adelaide's Yearlings, Robyn 'Bob' Chalklen and Chris Parkinson, were sparse but never dry, down-home music that dug its roots into the soil of mountain country and plains folk blues. With nowt but voices and guitars there were no flourishes but they found the kernel of each story and built a frame around it that held flashes of loneliness, life's driftwood and steadfast love. Those basic ingredients remain but this time Chalklen and Parkinson have brought along a band (drums, Hammond organ, harmony vocals, sliding bass and more) and a deeper reach into the backpocket of country blues, now with a bit of Bob Dylan to add to their Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The extra instrumentation thickens the mix immediately in the title track, which opens the album with a dash of the soul that will dot several of the 12 songs here. Most of the time though, the "band" remains unobtrusive, their contributions subtly fleshing out the mood and leaving air for the voices to bring the stories home."
Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald, June 15 2008

"Another roots act based in Adelaide, The Yearlings have once again come up with a beautiful, tender album of original tunes from Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson. Fitting somewhere in between Gillian Welch and the Cowboy Junkies, The Yearlings are in the best handful of country roots acts in the country and on this their third album they have produced another cracker of a record. Definitely worth checking out."
Dave Clarke, Readings Bookstore - Carlton, Victoria

Music SA Review

"The sound is quite different from their previous recordings, which were notable for their fragile beauty. Whilst the delicate balance between the vocals and guitars of the duo Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson is still evident, “Highway Dancing” displays a more masculine sound than we have previously seen from this group."

"Filled to the brim with strong songs “Highway Dancing” opens with a killer guitar riff from Chris Parkinson, and from the accompanying deep drum beat and bass sound it’s obvious the listener will not be getting a thin, crackling recording."
Ross Collin, Music SA
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Highway to Success - Jeff Crawford, City Messenger, May 15, 2008

"A chance meeting at a dinner party led Adelaide duo The Yearlings on a journey to the Big Apple and into the heart of American roots music.
The result of the trek is the twosome’s third album, Highway Dancing, recorded over four days in Brooklyn."
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CD Launch of the Week - Rip It Up, May 22-28, 2008

"With the release of their third full-length recording including 11 new songs, well known South Australian duo The Yearlings… have created a brand new album recorded in New York!... Using their weaving guitars and seductive harmonies as a base, this album has the backing of a band which give full flavour to The Yearlings' music."
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Take Me Highway Dancin' - Robert Dunstan, Rip It Up, May 22-28, 2008

"Local country folk duo The Yearlings... are pretty excited about the fact that Highway Dancing, their third album, was recorded in New York… The pair is also excited that at their two concerts in their home town for the launch of Highway Dancing they’ll be augmented by a full band."
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It's Their way and the Highway - Sam Kelton, The Advertiser, May 22, 2008

"The Yearlings are on the eve of their Highway Dancing album launch and... Robyn Chalklen took me a few miles back down the highway to talk about the band's inception... the duo has just recorded its third full-length album in New York… Despite being in the city that never sleeps, the band weren’t too influenced by the bright lights of New York."
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Mark Liebelt, dB Magazine, May 14, 2008

"So how do two artists end up recording their third album in New York's Excello Studio, a big jump from recording debut album 'Wind Already Blown' at Mick Wordleys Mixmasters in Hawthorndene. The album was recorded on tape over four days, and analogue is definitely The Yearlings' choice of recording method. Is it the warmth tape generates, or perhaps seeing the reels spinning around in the booth while they're singing that makes it appealing? "It's all those things. It's a mysterious thing, like using film in camera. There's a depth you can't put your finger on," says Chalken. Parkinson agrees - "it's three dimensional. It's like comparing vinyl to CDs.""
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REVIEWS FOR "WIND ALREADY BLOWN"

Tom Jellett, Weekend Australian 2005
"Following their 2003 self-titled album, Wind Already Blown is another collection of hearfelt songs that is utterly charming and horribly irresistable." ****
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Jo Roberts, The Age 2005
"The recording has a flowing, orgainic feel, perhaps due in part to guests on the record not rehearsing their piano, fiddle and bass parts; instead, say the liner notes, they were "recorded on the spot. Live. No charts. Just feel." That translates superbly." ***1/2
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Sydney Morning Herald 2005
"If The Yearlings' debut was promising, this album marks them out as something special."
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Courier Mail 2005
"Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson have the chemistry right on their second album. Her voice is strong and pure. His is reedy and plaintive - which makes for nice harmonies."
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Lone Tony Joe, 3dfm 2005
"Here's a duet in perfect balance with their original and personal songs. The Yearlings weave intimate lyrics & harmony around each other until songs gain altitude and float off powered with just a tickle of banjo, a brush of fiddle or a touch of piano. Once you embrace the simple, unpretentious pleasure of it all you can glide along with them in your own personal space. this is music meant for the gentler, kinder, more sensitive corners of your psyche. Playing the label game I'll run with... Adelaide Appalachian neo country folk grass blues! However don't be misled, there's a truly Ozmopolitan homespun world woven into this music. 'got my old Holden to drive got a 12-foot cruisin' wagon to drive ...And the engine's worn and there's steel showing on the tyres' "
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Narelle Walker, dB Magazine 2005
"...the two make a fantastic union: voices matchless, guitars taking opposite positions in rounds, finger picking stepping in and around stanzas to finesse the fine, simple songs in a country kinda way. Beyond fad or fashion 'Wind Already Blown' is a timless gem of a record."
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Jason Walker, Last Magazine 2005
"Hearing these carefully drawn stories, complete with a history of generations, of love and loss, is a secret and melancholy pleasure, and this record can make you feel like a kid eating stolen cake in a cupboard."
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Jimmy Little
"In a world full of hi-tech and overly charged electronic sound and commercialism, it's wonderful just to be able to relax and listen to the purity, the sweetness and the simplicity of natural voices gently accompanied by melodic sounding acoustic guitars. Together in unison and harmony The Yearlings express the lyrical truth of storylines about real life that poetically tug at the heartstrings. This new CD recording by The Yearlings is a prized possession of well-written originals by Chris and Robyn and are dually congratulated by me for their body of work and artistic efforts in this album. To "The Yearlings", I wish you every success for the future and thank you again for adding a little more peace, joy and inspiration to the world we live in. God Bless you."

Anthony Paine, Readings
"The Self-titled debut CD for Adelaide's The Yearlings is a delight. Robyn Chalklen from country flavoured live favourites Problem Pony, and Chris Parkinson, guitar picking sideman to the likes of Jimmy Little and Paul Kelly take turns at singing lead and harmonising on each others original, lyrically fascinating tunes. The guitar playing throughout this all acoustic album is fluid and timeless. The one cover is their take on the traditional "Oh Susannah", played here with the sort of lazy confidence that makes their live performances such a pleasure."

Jo Bonnano, 3cr Radio Melbourne
"The Yearlings' music recalls the very roots of true country music. From Southern Appalachia, and a time when AP Carter was mining the region for the songs that would be become the first commercial country music, it flows seamlessly, through The Yearlings, to the present. Chris Parkinson evokes the Carter Family, with his nimble picking and in his songs. They display an eye for love, joy, longing, and beauty. Writing separately, Robyn Chalklen calls to mind The Carters in a different way. There's her almost impassive singing, and her words, that probe the darker side, and are peopled with drifters, lost souls and losers... Most importantly, it's got soul."

Kami, 3d Radio Adelaide
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION - The Yearlings The Yearlings (Chris Parkinson & Robyn Chalklen) have long been a favourite in the funhouse shed. Of course we hold them dear to our hearts ‘cos we first unleashed them onto the world - or at least to the 100 odd folk who purchased funhouse #2 for the cdr (Now I Wanna Be Your Stooge - A Stooges Tribute) that came with it. You see The Yearlings, then in the clever guise of "Chris & Bob", recorded a rousing bluegrass version of Raw Power for this tribute to the stooges that blew damn near everyone who heard it away."
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