Wild Strawberries? Wild cards is more like it.
Just when you think you have the husband-and-wife duo of Ken Harrison, 33, and Roberta Carter Harrison, 30, figured out, they delight in taking a sudden left turn.
Once a chiming guitar-pop band, Wild Strawberries have mutated into an electronic-based, trip-hop-influenced outfit -- kind of like a less harrowing version of Portishead -- on their fourth and finest record, Quiver.
Not even this Lilith Fair act knows what they'll do next.
"It's always a bit of a surprise to see what does happen once we get writing and get recording," says Roberta, the sweet-voiced singer. "Sometimes we've been a bit criticized for doing the more electronic stuff, but we don't see it as a huge jump. We see it as a natural progression."
She has a point. The duo's 1994 album, Bet You Think I'm Lonely, often masked cynical, downbeat lyrics in pretty, upbeat pop melodies.
"But it sure didn't seem like people were getting it," Roberta says.
"The music is now coming around to meet the lyrics."
That responsibility falls upon Ken, the man with the many musical gadgets, who creates the band's moody, multi-layered soundscapes.
Roberta suggests Wild Strawberries' future music direction might hinge on what toy Ken brings home next.
"The latest is this machine the Kraftwerk fellows in Germany helped design. He can route different sounds through different channels. He's having a lot of fun."
With the new instrument, Wild Strawberries just recorded a cover of What A Little Moonlight Can Do, one of Billie Holiday's few swing numbers, for possible inclusion in an upcoming Minnie Driver movie.
"If you asked us even two months ago if we'd consider doing swing, it would have been:'Heck, no, it's not our thing.' But when the publisher said, `Just give it a try, we think you can do it,' it was really fun and a really good experience. I don't think we'll make a swing record, but we're open to anything."
Wild Strawberries play tonight from 6:10 to 6:40 p.m. on Lilith Fair's B-Stage at McMahon Stadium.
