The great thing about bands that sound exactly as good on their records as they do live, is that they feel more honest somehow. When I think of North Carolina’s Bowerbirds, I remember the front row show where I watched the harmoniums and guitars being used within inches of their limits, and the voices of Phil Moore and Beth Tacular joining in repeated seamless ways. She was wearing a hat and looking smashing, and he was wearing a beard I’m still envious of. The music of the Bowerbirds is honest and natural, not because the subject matter seems to dwell there, but because it seems so completely inevitable that music like theirs would be made. Someone was bound to stumble upon this brand of brambled perfection. Luckily, it was found by two very talented people.
With a bigger recording budget, and more time to stretch and explore, The Clearing is “a bigger record, with bolder sounds, a broader scope, and more complicated songs”. The forthcoming third album from the (now) duo is gonna be a lovely one as evidenced by album opener “Tuck The Darkness In”, which definitely explores it’s boundaries; begin with a simple strum and ending with bursting choir calls. Moore and Tacular find each other during the song’s journey across a lyricized land of varying states of chaos. I found, as you might, the song to be quite whistleable. Download the first song from the new record below.
Bowerbirds – Tuck the Darkness In by birds need feet
And if you can, you should absolutely see them live during their tour staring in March. Both Glenn and I highly recommend their show.
The Clearing Track Listing
(The Clearing is available 3/06/12 from Dead Oceans Records)
-Matt
