Husky ‘Nu-Folk’ Tones of Indigo Girls

Artist: Indigo Girls.

History: Back in Atlanta, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first sang as a duo at a high school PTA show, harmonizing on the sensitive hits of James Taylor and Elton John. Moving on to the English-lit-fed climes of Emory University, the two began to take their own “nu-folk” writing more seriously. Their post-dropout debut album doesn’t include Taylor or John, but does boast some of the Hothouse Flowers, and all of R.E.M., those fellow Georgians who invited the Girls to open most of their latest arena tour. College radio play has gotten the record off to a fast sales start; just wait until the Tracy Chapman crowd discovers it.

Sound: The two voices here are distinguishable only to a careful ear. Ray and Saliers both have lovely altos, warm and husky, that can glide up to the higher notes or swoop around each other as they sing verses and choruses in the round. Both write solid, melodically rich, acoustic-based material; if they both also have a tendency to overextend themselves lyrically, write it off to youth. Saliers (whose father is a theology professor) tends to pen the headier material, full of religious imagery, while Ray comes up with earnest, tortured love songs. “Closer to Fine,” the single, is pretty close to fine itself with its distinctly ‘60s, Dylan-meets-the-Everlys hooks.

When: Monday and Tuesday at the Roxy, Wednesday at the Bacchanal, Thursday at Bogart’s.