A good portion of The Montvales’ new album Born Strangers was created during the dark days of 2020, as Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson found themselves living together in “a very small house” in Knoxville, Tennessee. “We felt trapped, and we were trying to make art out of that,” says Buice, chuckling in a telephone interview. “So I think this album really captures a moment in time for us. We wrote the songs over the span of a few years, and I think it’s cool to hear the album, honor where we were back then, and wrap it up into a neat little chapter in album form.”
It’s a chapter that turns even more symbolic considering that the small house The Montvales once shared is now a thing of the past, as both Buice and Rochelson made the move to Cincinnati in 2021. “We really didn’t know a ton about Cincinnati,” Buice admits. “I knew that I really loved all the parks and forests here, and we both were really charmed by Northside from the beginning. But, yeah, we were kind of just looking for something new and jumped without knowing a whole lot. We got very lucky that we ended up here.”
Indeed, Cincinnati was where Buice and Rochelson found separate homes and eventually finished writing the songs on Born Strangers, a sonic stunner that brings folk traditions to the modern age by utilizing the breathtaking harmonies the duo has long been known for. “I feel a big responsibility as a folk musician to tell people’s stories,” says Rochelson. “Storytelling is so powerful. I mean, it’s more powerful than just telling somebody what to believe every single time.”
Born Strangers continues The Montvales’ tradition of putting the spotlight on somewhat heavy and controversial issues with a small-town sweetness that hits home through lyrics that seep into your soul. “I think it’s just the ultimate empathy builder in some ways, putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes,” says Buice.
During the course of Born Strangers, The Montvales can be heard singing about everything from reproductive rights to rising housing prices to environmental issues. Take, for example, the album’s first single “Lou.”
“I was living in France teaching English and I was really lucky to have my brother come to visit me and bring my baby niece, and I got to take her to the beach for the first time,” says Buice, who wrote the song. “It was really wholesome to see how in love with everything she was. I was just trying to reconcile watching a young person fall in love with the world with how many good parts of it were disappearing.”
These and many other causes will naturally be illuminated during The Montvales’ current tour, which includes a “hometown” show at the Woodward Theater on Friday, February 2. “Some of our storytelling comes from other perspectives, but a lot of it’s really deeply personal,” says Buice. “And I think putting ourselves in the vulnerable position of going around to all of these different communities and playing our music has allowed me to draw a lot of … there are just so many connections in the way that people are feeling in all those different places. I think it really adds a lot of depth to what we play.”
It also adds depth to their lives away from the stage. “Sally and I have been friends since we were literally children,” says Rochelson. “And I think from the beginning we just had this way of drawing art out of each other in various ways, and it was one of the first things we ever bonded over.”
“I think music has also been a really nice way to build each other into our lives,” adds Buice. “Both of us opened our first shared bank account this year, and it was with each other. (Laughs.) It’s a fun way to have a long-term friendship and working partnership.”
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