Written by Eddie Ferranti
The Southwest Regional Folk Alliance in Austin, Texas has been a hot bed for us to catch on to new artists the last five years or so. One of those happens to be by the name of Mystery Loves Company whom we met in 2015. They are a touring and recording duo from Houston,Texas whose diverse musical influences create an edgy and lyrical sound that equates to what they like to call “Chamber Rock”. They met at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck’s open mic night in 2012 and found out their collaboration spawned a sound that surprised them both in a good way. Electric cello is something we were never exposed to and sweet Madeline Herdeman can rock your socks off when she gets rolling coupled with Carlos Machado’s acoustic guitar prowess. They both have above average pipes and spending an evening with these two can be a mystifying experience.
This night was a special treat where they performed as a duo and then added members with clarinet, bass and drums further sending you into the chamber of rockness! A nice crowd showed up including Machado’s parents and grandma, and showed enthusiastic support all evening. Covering the Righteous Brothers’ epic tune “Lost That Loving Feeling” was a stellar rendition that got our attention major. MH’s long and flowing gyrations on her cello are subtle, but very sweet to witness. Girl can flat out play and one can see why she has a real job of teaching her craft to students. Both members can let the vocals soar when they want to and harmonizing is a key to their success. Two stand out numbers were “Bird and Fish” and “Aliens” where Maddy let it rip asunder on her cello! I’ve been a Pearl Jam fan from day one and their version of “Better Man” is a spot on killer rendition!
MLC’s sound is something that is hard to “label”, but is pure and innovative and that is thee attraction for us. You could not meet a more down-to-earth pair of hard working people who really enjoy carving a niche in the vastly expansive Houston music scene. They are very aggressive in their touring schedule playing any place anybody will have them including scoring good vibes in MH’s home town Chicago area. Rose and I love cheering for an underdog and love supporting people who care about their craft. If good jazzy rock jams interest you go no farther than securing a night with this act! I bet you’ll come away a fan like Houston Music Review is…