“Steve Marion’s songs have always been a little too interesting to dismiss as background music. Guided by the cheerful searchlight of his guitar, the vibrant, dependably eccentric instrumentals that Marion has released as Delicate Steve walk a fine line: Even at their most mellow, his songs court your full attention.

On Delicate Steve Sings, though, Marion’s songs have finally faded into musical wallpaper. With its tongue-in-cheek title and smattering of cover songs, the record gestures at classic collections of reimagined standards like Chet Baker Sings or Willie Nelson’s Stardust (which Marion cites as an influence). But Delicate Steve Sings falls short of meeting the genre on its own terms, trying on the smooth lounge act trappings without really committing to the bit. What emerges is a clean but uninspired display case for his prodigious talents, a collection of—how else to put it?—easy listening instrumentals that more often than not feel bland.” –Pitchfork

“On their second album, Leaving, Fran finds us at a crossroads of loss and possibility, borne  from the grief of isolation and the existential drama of a warming planet. In spite of this grief,  songwriter Maria Jacobson took the solitude of the past few years to commit to seeing reality  clearly. Jacobson was inspired by Alan Watts’ Wisdom of Insecurity, which examines the  difference between belief and faith: the former inviting constriction and holding on; the latter,  presence and letting go. Jacobson sought to let go of the roles and ambitions that had  previously defined her. 

Leaving’s resulting mixture of instrumentals swells and bursts and sometimes lays completely  bare, like a heartbeat or an open field. Jacobson’s voice enters each song like a vine wrapping  around an idea. The songs often start with only a couple words, then pause, boldly identifying a  time, season, place. She connects the listener with a familiar landscape or image, something  grounding between moments of anxiety. On “Winter,” a dish towel, pressed flowers, snow covered hay become beautiful, but fleeting flagships: meditations on noticing and letting go.” –Firetalk Recs