 by Rob van Alstyne
Plain and simple, Ida makes music for adults. Pensive, reflective, typically mellow with the occasional splash of rock bombast, the Brooklyn collective has spent 13 years exploring the outer edges of folk-rock to great critical acclaim and an impassioned cult following. Favoring a wide-ranging exploratory sound over standard rock ‘n’ roll conventions it makes perfect sense that Ida’s cerebral and complicated take on song finds its most receptive audiences in atypical rock venues—the group frequently plays community arts centers and museums and felt perfectly in its element at their 2003 gig at the University of Minnesota’s Weisman Art Museum—as opposed to hipster bars. Steeped in winning harmonies (courtesy of husband and wife team Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell plus secret alto weapon Karla Schickle who all rotate on lead vocals) and introspective-yet-never-maudlin lyricism, Ida’s already lived multiple music lives by this point. Twentysomething-road-warriors-turned-major-label-martyrs-now-indie-elder-statesman, Ida have always been a band that’s rolled with the punches. That being said, the group’s latest adjustment—parenthood- —was perhaps their hardest yet, and a large part of the reason the group’s new album, Heart Like A River, comes after four years of recording silence.
Ddownload an mp3 of Ida’s song “Late Blues.”
 “I
think it’s definitely heightened our awareness of the amount of time we
get to spend doing music and the quality of that time when we’re totally
engaged in it,” claims Littleton via telephone when asked about the effect
parenthood has had on the band. “We’re always really excited now
when we get to do it. We’re not playing as a band four or five times a
week and being maniacs and like living in a band together. Having kids has a
massive effect on the way you structure your life. You can’t pursue music
the same way. That said, the intensity kind of gets raised, so when we do get
to do it or when we’re playing a show we’re so in it, and it’s
really immediate. I think that feeling comes directly out of knowing that the
music is using up time we’re not spending with our kid.”
Whether it’s a postpartum intensity or not, there’s a feeling of
immediacy and kinetic energy that permeates all eleven cuts on Heart Like
A River. The record simultaneously boasts some of the group’s most
visceral rock numbers (the snarling “599”) and placid pop moments
(the sublime acoustic glide of “Written On My Face”). All of the
songs are elegantly adorned in perfectly suited instrumental accoutrements (harmonium,
Wurlitzer, clarinet, various violas and cellos) and the songs stretch out in
unexpected directions that would make the likes of Jim O’Rourke smile
in approval.
Littleton reveals that the recording process this time around was far different
than the group’s previous go round, when it was signed to major label
Capitol Records and recorded the tracks that would ultimately be released on
independent labels as Will You Find Me? and The Braille Night
in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
 “In
addition to all the years in between the recording sessions there was just a
really huge contrast in how we worked while in the studio,” says Littleton.
“With Will You Find Me? we really did spend 16 hours a day for
months, just constantly at work. We had a big label budget behind us and we
were using it. Nobody from Capitol was really watching us too closely. Regardless
of the net result of our relationship with Capitol, it was like getting to take
a crash-course in figuring out sonic experimentation and understanding sound
in the studio. It all can become really mundane just from spending so much time
on it. It was just a ridiculous kind of immersion. With Heart Like A River
we really wanted to try and get a live feel with the recordings. We’re
definitely inspired by a lot of recordings where you feel like you can actually
hear the musicians reacting to one another in the moment. Like on ‘Down
By the River’ when it sounds as though you can almost feel Crazy Horse
watching Neil Young’s hands because they know they’re only going
to get two chances to play the song and they have to react right on time with
him. I didn’t even play a couple of my songs that ended up on the record
until the night before we recorded them. I just wanted to hear how the players
would instinctively react to it.”
 This
willingness to give oneself over to the good graces of the group dynamic is
at the core of Ida’s magic. In a period when far too many bands are dictatorial
front persons with a revolving cast of characters it’s flat out refreshing
to see a group so committed to a democratic vision. All three principal members
assume songwriting duties and take equal share of the spotlight. Littleton wouldn’t
have it any other way.
“I think we totally wouldn’t have made it as far as we have if we
didn’t have [that shared power structure and open exchange of songwriting
ideas],” comments Littleton. “There have been more or less stable
lineups over time. For five years my brother [drummer Michael Littleton] was
in the band. For the last eight years Karla has been in the band. My brother
came back and played with us a little bit on our last tour before Liz and I
had a kid and it felt as awesome as it ever did. Our core group of friends can
come back and play with us whenever they want; it doesn’t feel incongruous
or strange at all. The core of Liz, Karla and I writing songs together, bashing
out ideas together—that’s what keeps us really pushing one another
forward. It’s probably the reason we’re still doing anything at
all. When we sing together it has this kind of continuity, when we do an old
song it still has this special feeling we can kind of just step right back into,
it still feels alive. There’s still a sense of excitement to everything
we’re doing.” ||
Ida perform on Mon., Oct. 3 at the Triple Rock Social Club with Hockey Night
and Mates of State. 5 p.m. $10 adv / $12 door. All Ages. 629 Cedar Ave. S.,
Mpls. 612-333-7399.
For more information on Ida check out their official website
at Idamusic.com.
Download an mp3 of Ida’s song “Late
Blues.”
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