Information is scant on Katie And Jess; the biography on their Facebook page is almost as enigmatic as it comes: “katie plays guitar; jessika sings”. Can’t really fault its accuracy, though, as these two tracks are indeed made up of just guitar and vocals.
‘New Song’ (not a smart-ass clever-clever song title – it seems they haven’t yet chosen a name for it) is a soft and warm kind of a tune. Mellow, simple-yet-graceful acoustic guitar melodies sit below sweet and clear vocals that shy away from obvious displays of range or power, and they’re the better for it. Except for a slightly mannered tendency to break single words into two notes (eg ‘sky’ becomes ‘sky-eye’), it’s a nice, pure and pleasingly simple sound that’s created.
‘More Than This’ is a Roxy Music cover, and it pares back the glossy sheen of the original to leave it as an uncomplicated ditty. Similarly to ‘New Song’, it comprises just guitar and straightforward vocals, and has a feel of recorded-at-home intimacy. Both of the songs benefit from the absolute lack of extras in their recording and production, and this exposes a deft handling of songs that could well stand up to having more thrown at them, but seem comfortable and content to remain just as they are.