Thirty Steps to Forward

“Very much a diamond in the rough, this South Haven duo crafts beautiful acoustic folk numbers, led by the charge of Gretchen Powers’ sweet and delicate vocal work. In the process of recording a second album, most of the band’s catalog of original music can be found on the full-length “The Bird and The Fool”, which was released in September of 2009.”

—  West Michigan Noise

“Framing folk-pop lullabies with the sparest of acoustic instrumentation, the indie-pop duo Thirty Steps to Forward prove less can be decidedly more on their new CD, “The Bird and The Fool,” an album of fragile and aching beauty. Filled with melodies of crystalline delicacy, “The Bird and The Fool” is that rare debut album that lands fully formed, the work of artists forsaking trends or formula to embrace their music within. Gretchen, the female half of the duo, plays guitar and cello and handles most of the singing … Seth contributes simple - but transformative, guitar and mandolin, and takes a couple turns at lead vocal, his troubadour-ish tenor providing stark contrast to his partner’s breathless frailty. Highlights include CD-opener, “Respectively Swollen,” title-track, “The Bird and the Fool,” Gretchen’s sweetly imploring “Won’t You Dance” and Seth’s confessional, “Bought a Ticket for a Plane,” but - truly, there’s not a weak song in the bunch. ”

— Rice B.

“Seth and Gretchen, who both have a beautiful voice and that together have a very sounding so would the whole folk scene of the sixties could have run away. The 10 songs on disc component, which has a perfect period of over 30 minutes, created a fantasy world where children are still satisfied with The Simple Meaning Of Life. Songs both musically and lyrically very strong with a magical and dreamy nature.”

- Johan Schoenmakers
(altcountryforum.nl) Netherlands