The Ladles Track ‘Thank You’ Shares Gratitude To Community

May 31, 2021

singer Caroline Kuhn.

Featured on their new album Springville Sessions, the three songs offer a glimpse of each member’s unique voice and writing style, which, like the breathtaking harmonies that characterize the album, come together to form something greater than the sum of their parts, “lighting up space like a firefly in the night.” (American Songwriter)

“‘Thank You’ is a song of gratitude for one’s community,” said Purpura-Pontoniere.

“It was written after going through a difficult time — often when we are going through something, it can feel as if we are alone.

But this song is the moment of recognizing all the people in your life that support you and carry you through, be it a close family member or someone who pays for your food ahead of you in line – small and large acts of kindness and love between humans.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic canceling an entire year’s worth of tour dates, The Ladles decided to turn their only remaining gig of 2020 — a three-week summer residency in the quaint town of Springville, New York — into their extraordinary and spontaneous new album. Recorded over the course of four days in a historic former Baptist church, the collection mixes folk sensibilities with pop, jazz, choral, and chamber music, creating a “gorgeous” blend fueled by spare, acoustic instrumentation and “brilliant harmonies,” earning comparisons to Gillian Welch, First Aid Kit, Mountain Men, and I’m With Her.

The Ladles have always managed to walk the line between technical virtuosity and emotional intuition. But Springville Sessions finds the trio reaching new heights with a less-is-more approach, embracing their environment at the Springville Center for the Arts and recording the entire album with the stripped-down intimacy of a live performance. The result is an entrancing chronicle of a singular moment in time, a raw, organic record that finds connection and hope in the face of isolation and overwhelming uncertainty.

“With only the three of us and an engineer in the room, we were free to just be ourselves,” says Purpura-Pontoniere. “Everything was as intimate as it could possibly be.”

Founded roughly five years ago, The Ladles first came together by chance, when they realized they were the only three women in the New England Conservatory of Music’s Contemporary Improvisation program. While coincidence may have introduced the trio, it was the chemistry that bound them, and from their earliest performances together, it was clear that the band had something special on their hands.

“Certainly there was a shared feminine perspective at work there,” says Martucci, “but Lucia and Caroline are two musicians I’d want to play with in any capacity.”

The group began recording and performing around New England before they’d even graduated, releasing an early self-titled EP in 2016 and following it up with their acclaimed full-length debut, ‘The Line,’ in 2019. The band supported both releases with extensive touring, playing festivals as far afield as Louisiana and Maine, and selling out shows in Boston, New York City, and the Hudson Valley along the way.

Stream The Ladles‘ new album, Springville Sessions, and the single “Thank You” now.