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Becky and Ryan Anderson ( f&m ) (BJOERN FRIEDRICH)

Edmonton folk trio F&M has something of an accidental album on its hands.
   
Released this past Tuesday via Shameless Records, Wish You Were Here comes less than a year after the band much-praised 2010 LP Sincerely.
   
"It’s been so fast," says singer/songwriter Ryan Anderson over speakerphone from Saskatchewan. (He’s joined on the line — and in the band — by his wife, singer/songwriter Rebecca Anderson.) "It was just supposed to be a couple of downloads. But things went really well in the studio so we kept going."
   
This pace isn’t exactly unfamiliar to F&M   — "We’re already written the next album and a side project album," Ryan says with a laugh — but there’s nothing rushed about Wish You Were Here. Stripped-down and soul-bearing, the eight songs that make up this contemplative, songwriter’s album were lovingly crafted; each sigh of Rebecca’s accordion, each raw guitar note perfectly compliments the pair’s indelible vocal interplay (Rebecca’s sweet to Ryan’s salty). Indeed, it’s an utterly lovely record.
   
"We actually had the time take on this this one — the trick was not to packing in more, which is very tempting with studio technology," Ryan says. "We wanted a very quiet, moody record. We wanted to make a record that lulls you."
   
"It’s actually our most rehearsed record," Rebecca adds. "Even though it went quick in the studio, it wasn’t slapped together."
   
The couple credits the band’s third member/producer, multi-instrumentalist Bryan Reichert, with making Wish You Were Here the record it is.
   
"Bryan is the ampersand in F&M," Ryan says. "He knows how to make something sound beautiful, which is a real talent."
   
More than just beautiful album, Wish You Were Here is the product of a band that’s finally comfortable with its less-is-more sound — and a band that has faith in the strength of its songs.
   
"We really embraced our trio sound, our gentler side," Rebecca says. "We wanted to embrace that quiet intensity. For a while it felt like we were competing against a lot of wall-of-sound acts. But then we realized that this is what we do well. We wanted to be true to ourselves."

F&M
Sept. 3, Le Garage Café