Perhaps the most riveting of the many evocative songs on "Skeleton Crew," the debut album from the mother-son duo known as Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, is a slightly haunted ditty called "Dead Daffodils."
A countrified, homespun scene is laid out by the lyrics and the sparse braid of two acoustic guitars. But there are dappled shadows on the bucolic setting that gradually become a portentous shroud, with Madisen Ward's unsettled vocals carrying most of the freight.
The rich resonance of his declamatory tenor turns raspy, and unexpectedly comes to a squeaky finish within the course of a single phrase. Some of the deep, throaty tones, as well as the daring volatility, are reminiscent of singer-songwriter Tom Waits.
"When I write songs that are unorthodox or imperfect because it is coming from a raw place, it reminds me of the realm when I first started writing songs, and it is a good place," said Madisen by phone last week. "There has to be a kind of freedom to it, like if I am singing higher than my register should be, or my mom and I are not really harmonizing, not following a certain template. It is hard to remain creative if the bridge is too safe."
This artistic verve is a signature virtue of the guitar-vocal duo, their tour coming to the Cedar Cultural Center on Sunday. Madisen's desire to stir things up helps tweak the clichés out of their biographical narrative as familial African-Americans from the heartland performing acoustic music.
The "Mama Bear," Ruth Ward, was an aspiring singer-songwriter weaned on Sam Cooke and anxious to take part in the folk-rock boom of the late 1960s and '70s.
"My roots lie in everything," Ruth said. "Madisen can tell you we had albums pillar to post around the house. As a teenager I loved the sound of Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson — the depth of soul that came out of them. Etta James. I can just feel that sound, whether it is folk or soul."
Ruth released two albums many years apart before shelving her dreams in the face of marriage and three children.