From their early days busking in their hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, folk-country duo The Montvales have fine tuned the art of meeting listeners exactly where they are. And with their upcoming album Born Strangers, the pair—Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson—have taken that concept to universal levels, creating a reaffirming collection of songs for these uncertain times as told through the wide-eyed existentialism of their stories and the questions raised by their lyrics. And while staying true to the folk traditions like a strong sense of home or enacting change through art, The Montvales offer up their mantras through the fresh, honest perspective of young, female artists in the 2020s.

Due out on February 2nd, Born Strangers takes a step into new territory with a full band of Nashville musicians; a departure from Heartbreak Summer Camp, The Montvales’ 2019 album that reunited the duo after Buice and Rochelson moved away for some time to seek their fortunes separately.

The new direction was aided by producer Mike Eli LoPinto (guitarist for Chris Stapleton and co-writer and producer of Emily Nenni’s “On the Ranch”) who assembled an A-list roster of session players at sound engineer Sean Sullivan’s Tractor Shed Studio for Born Strangers. The result is The Montvales’ sound elevated and amplified. Buice and Rochelson’s voices intertwine jubilantly throughout the album—a sound developed over a lifetime of singing together—and listeners are compelled to join in harmony on a dynamic journey through the gritty, determined, and sometimes absurd world of The Montvales.

Zack Miles is a Singer/songwriter with folk, americana, and bluegrass influence. Coffee-core.