Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion get Centered

(this piece was published by Planet JH Weekly)It’s been a decade since husband-and-wife folk-rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion put out their first album together. Sarah is the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. That namesake ties together a singular crossroad to the folk royalty’s extended family on the duo’s new release, Wassaic Way, which was produced by two members of Wilco—frontman Jeff Tweedy and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sansone. Wilco’s thread to the Guthrie legacy also extends to a pair of Mermaid Avenue albums in 1998 and 2000, in which Woody’s unfinished songs were recorded by Billy Bragg and Wilco. Those pair of albums have been placed in a personal playlist of mine labeled “timeless.”Indulging in strummy pop hooks and layered soundscapes, Sarah Lee and Johnny don’t play in her grandfather’s folk style—at least not on the new album. The delicate-voiced duo’s NPR session this past August featured them backed by a rhythm section and keys, reproducing studio versions of songs from Wassaic Way.“This record is a departure from a folk duo,” Irion said, who would powwow with Tweedy and revise songs at the beginning of each recording day. “I think this is the best example we’ve been able to present that shows the many facets of what we can do. There’s loud guitars, there’s soundscapes, there’s a lushness to it, there’s a popness, an edge.” Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (duo show), 7 p.m. Monday at the Center Theater. $20. JHCenterForTheArts.org, 733-4900.