Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is something tantalising about the way a musical duo can be in so in tune with each other, that when it’s done well it’s as close to perfection as you can expect it to be. American Folk act Simon and Garfunkel showed this from the very beginning of their career, Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke of Yazoo perfected in the 80s Electronic era as did the Eurythmics and the sensational Everything But The Girl. Even when the music is not coming from a natural duo such as Liverpool’s Ian McNabb and Ian Prowse or Mersey Wylie and Dave O’Grady, the music they generate, the feeling they inspire is nothing short of impressive.
Add to this long list of duos two women whose voice acts a single entity and whose guitar playing is as sublime as almost anything you can find and the result is the very cool Me and Deboe.
The E.P. the pair has produced pays testament to their performance and their growing reputation in the Cheshire and London area and have enjoyed playing to greater acclaim in the Merseyside area as well. The self-titled E.P. has all the hall marks of being one that shakes the foundations of music and adds the voice of a female duo to the ranks of those gone before. Mercy Elise and Sarah Deboe’s music is enduring and endearing but with that wonderful female spark that can be missing from other duos.
The E.P. opens with the superb Mother Shipton, a classic track that showcases the best of both voices and the guitar sparks and thrills like a free rollercoaster ride through Cadbury World, sweet and succinct, full of good things and a heavenly taste at the end. From there the E.P. continues its course and it is a great course of direct music that speaks across the gender divide and plays wonderfully.
Strangely for an E.P. there is a live track for listeners to get to grips with and is verification of their talent. Frustration Song is anything but vexing; it gives the chance for the two women to show that when people get to hear their music on the E.P., it will be of no surprise to the audience that the music Mercy Elise and Sarah Deboe have contributed is not just good, it is very, very superb.
Ian D. Hall