Their creative partnership stretches across a decade and spans geographical regions from the southwestern United States to the outskirts of London. But singer-guitarist Devin Tuel and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Harms keep finding their way back to Philly with their project Native Harrow. Tuel grew up in Downingtown, and after she first connected with Harms in Austin, they traveled the states, made a couple gorgeous independently-released records, and then settled in the Philly area in the late 20-teens where the glorious Laurel Canyon-toned Happier Now and the more pensive Closeness took root. During the COVID pandemic, they bucked down and planed next steps, and once travel restrictions lifted, they relocated to England to work and live for a few years, making their 2022 album Old Kind of Magic during their stay abroad.

Now, Native Harrow is back stateside with Divided Kind — their strongest work to date, recorded in Fishtown with producer and percussionist Joshua Friedman, who now joins the Native Harrow live band from behind the drumkit. Tuel and Harms’ newest songs are rootsy singer-songwriter reflections of human connection, from the depths of love (“Follow Me Round”) to the emotional lows of isolation (“Goin’ Nowhere”); the mood is dynamic, brisk and buoyant one song, expansive and expressive the next.

Performing in the WXPN studios, the compact-yet-complex performance style Native Harrow honed in its first several years is intact — Harms juggles multiple stringed instruments and keys, using his Gretsch hollow body to achieve a robust low end on the romantic “I Wanna Thank You,” and then breaking out an explosive bass solo on “Wayward Dreaming” — but with Friedman’s backbeat keeping the music moving, Tuel’s captivating vocal and contemplative lyricism get space to shine. Watch Native Harrow’s Key Studio Sessions set above, and check out a gallery of photos below. And for more, head to World Cafe Live’s Lounge this Saturday, February 15th, when they’ll take the stage alongside NYC artist Mae Krell; details on the show can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar.

Zinskē: “Disappearing In Yucca Valley” (The Key Studio Sessions)