20-11-2008 21:35:32
“If Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake fell in love and wrote duets, they might have sounded something like Sense of Wonder. Beautiful harmony, intelligent, playful songwriting, and rich acoustic arrangements. This is the smiling spirit of folk.”
2007 WAMMIE Nominations
Sense of Wonder's Open the Gate has been nominated as BEST DEBUT RECORDING for a 2007 Washington Area Music Award! In addition, the CD artwork has been nominated as BEST RECORD DESIGN (congrats to our good friend, Michael Simpson)! And Rick & Audrey have also been nominated in the children's music category. All WAMA members can vote, so we urge you to get your ballot and send it in by January 2nd. If you'd like to join WAMA, you can do so here, and vote immediately. Woo!
Open the Gate CD now available on iTunes
Sense of Wonder's Open the Gate CD is now available on iTunes! Click here to preview, download, or review our tunes (thanks!). In addition, our music appears on Rhapsody, Napster, Music Match, and many others... Enjoy!
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Ok, when was the last time you just listened to a record?
Not in the background while you washed the dishes, or shuffling through your iPod at the gym…
I mean really listened to it...
No doubt it was a truly distinctive album that inspired you to turn off the TV, dim the lights, raise the volume, and just listen…
Abbey Road, maybe? Joni Mitchell's Blue? Nick Drake's Pink Moon?
Open the Gate, this shining debut from Sense of Wonder, will send you scrambling for your favorite high-fidelity, googlephonic headphones. It has that mystical, transporting quality that begs you to close your eyes — picturing blue skies, mossy riverbanks, and sun-dappled skin…
Through this "Gate" you'll find a beautiful winding path. A smile is there to guide you, sweet harmony on the breeze, and a witch in the shadows — a fairytale landscape promising laughter, wisdom, and spiritual cleansing.
At first hooked by a handful of playfully original love songs, you'll soon find yourself drawn into a deeper place, lost in a contemplative woods, before finally emerging into the welcoming sunlight of the closing arpeggios.
This is a sonic landscape that you'll visit often — each time knowing it more intimately, and unlocking more of it's secrets. Sense of Wonder's debut will deftly find its way into your collection of listening albums.
“Rick & Audrey share with audiences a pure and spontaneous zest for life and love. The joy and optimism they exude is contagious.”
— Busy Graham, Class Acts Arts, Inc.“Their songs dance like fireflies under a willow tree. Delicious mix of harmonies with eloquent songwriting. One sip is magic.”
— Katie Graybeal, We're About 9“There's purity and simplicity in Rick and Audrey's acoustic folk songs. There's also a genuine sweetness that is neither sappy nor trite. It's feel-good music with nice harmonies, and in this case, that is more than enough!”
— C|Net (Download.com) Editor’s Pick“Rick and Audrey infuse their grown-up songs with the joy of youth. The result: a magical balance of intellectuality and innocence to their songs and performance that I have never seen matched. Absolutely beautiful.”
— Brian Gundersdorf, We're About 9