Drifting slightly above the frantic clamor of L.A.’s diverse and chaotic independent music scene, “The Dahls” –(twin sisters Melinda and Caitlin) – have crafted a unique and transcendent flight path of their own design. With a series of club appearances throughout the Los Angeles basin, The Dahls have built a solid fan base that grows increasingly with each live performance. And while their journey seems destined to continue, this radiant pair of songbirds from Toronto has touched down recently to pause and reflect on all they’ve experienced thus far – an impressive and provocative recounting in the form of their first full-length album, “Midnight Picnic”.

Soaring on immaculate two-part harmonies, backed with subtle-yet-solid percussion, and augmented with haunting, soulful guitar fills, Melinda and Caitlin Dahl have spread a warm blanket over the cold damp grass which grows above the remains of fallen heroes, lost loved ones, and failed relationships, and have invited us to join them in an examination of the frailty of love, of life, and of that very fine line between joy and sorrow, between laughter and tears, and between sweet dreams and horrible nightmares.

From the dark, haunting despair of “Josephine”, to the buoyant, country-tinged harmonies of “Wonderful”, “Midnight Picnic” serves as a near-perfect metaphor for both sides of the human experience. The upbeat melodies and promise of songs such as “Feathers” and “Periwinkle Sky” are tempered with the heartache and sorrow of “Black and White Pictures”, and “Why Can’t I Stop”. A study in contrast, “ Midnight Picnic” is lush with experiences, songs and stories that are as wildly diverse, and yet almost eerily as similar as Melinda and Caitlin Dahl themselves.

But through it all, the listener is given a promise of redemption, as the ladies remind us that darkness cannot exist without light, that joy is only understood with the knowledge of sorrow, and that hatred is merely the other side of love. And so, in light of this constant duality, as their “Midnight Picnic” draws to a close, The Dahls encourage us all not to “fear the dark side, my dear”. And before once again taking flight – with a wisdom and sensibility that seems almost out of character for such sultry and endearing creatures – Melinda and Caitlin Dahl reassure us that just on the other side of the cold dark night of the soul, lies the impending warmth and comfort of a blinding sunrise, where we can once again live, love, dance, smile – and maybe even take out a canoe.