Before they joined forces in Hollywood, Kentucky multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hortillosa and California singer Kelley Jakle were both accomplished songwriters in their own right: Hortillosa supporting Austin “trashgrass” five-piece Whiskey Shivers and Jakle gaining recognition beyond her local scene with a college a cappella group. But when these star-crossed collaborators met on the set of Pitch Perfect 3, sparks flew and that chemistry gave birth to a new, diverse duo, Robin Alice.
Jakle’s pop-rock vocal tendencies mesh surprisingly well with Hortillosa’s Americana arrangement style, and the five songs on their debut EP obscure the lines between an impressive number of genres and influences. Mixed by Grammy Winner Chris “Frenchie” Smith (and engineered by Kris Wade), Here and There is out this Friday but let’s go ahead and take a gander at the forbidden fruit with a premiere of the album’s centerpiece, “Sinner”!
–Jack Anderson
