New Wax
Having toured with the likes of Bon Iver, Phosphorescent, and John Vanderslice, North Carolina duo Bowerbirds will follow up their impressive 2008 album Hymns For A Dark Horse with a new album entitled Upper Air on July 7 via Dead Oceans. Album opener "House Of Diamonds" is an outright gem. Opening with a lightly strummed acoustic guitar riff and sparse piano, the track finds lead vocalist Phil Moore and backup vocalist Beth Tacular harmonizing on a beautiful hook: "You are free, you are already free." On the track, Moore muses on an existence free of materialism: "You are free from the greed of your culture/ You are free from the lust for the luster/ Of the diamond houses in the city's cluster." Where Hymns For A Dark Horse seemed to focus on human coexistence with nature, Upper Air seems penned from a more personal point of view. On "Northern Lights," Moore sings "All I want is your eyes/ In the morning as we wake/ For a short while." Musically, there are no missteps on Upper Air. The tracks are never needlessly adorned and every string placement or backup vocal serves the greater purpose. If melodic folk music with intelligent songwriting is up your alley, I'd strongly recommend Upper Air. -- Capt. Obvious
6.05.2009
Bowerbirds: Upper Air (2009)
at 6:12 PM
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4 comments:
I stumbled on this band a couple of months ago and have been hooked ever since... and I'm pumped about the new record!
They have been a three-piece, not a duo, and recently added a fourth member.
According to their Myspace, they're a duo with a rotating cast of musicians.
I really enjoy this band. I got their song In Our Talon's about a year ago from a free Indie playlist; and now I love them!
Especially those two song's you've got for free. But some advice is that the house of Diamonds link doesn't work!
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