Band of the Week

Bowerbirds

"When I wake, I wake by the brook, to an untamed thunder, and the northern flicker flash about as the soup in the sky grows thicker." from Human Hands

I have been awaiting this North Carolina bands "debut" for many months. It was back in January that I first heard Bur Oak and In Our Talons, and I was blown away. Their sound is so intimate and natural, it simple flows from your speakers into the soil and back out and up to the sun. All acoustic, "Hymns for a Dark Horse" peacefully rolls down hills and through brooks, but never feels overly earth loving or hippie-like. This album is based on the belief that our world and our resources are limited, and it is that same scarcity that they relate to the possibilities of love.

Indicative of the music they make, Bowerbirds were born of unequal parts conflict and sweetness. Phil Moore and Mark Paulson had moved east from Iowa to form a band. Phil met Beth Tacular—a collected and published painter—while they worked together in a grocery store. Beth’s marriage was failing, and she saw something special in Phil . Not long before their band collapsed on tour somewhere in Alabama, Phil and Beth moved in together . They painted pictures and wrote songs and sang them. They started Bowerbirds and asked Mark to join them whenever possible.

The release of "Hymns for a Dark Horse" on July 10th will mark the inaugural release from North Carolina's Burly Time Records. The songs on the album have been recording with added instrumentation, so if you have the previously released mp3's you should seriously buy the album. They are also selling an EP at the their shows and on their myspace page entitled "Danger at Sea" with the original versions of In our Talons and Bur Oak and several other songs.

In Our Talons (mp3)

Dark Horse (mp3)

Hymns for a Dark Horse
Hooves/In Our Talons/Human Hands/Dark Horse/Bur Oak/My Oldest Memory/The Marbled Godwit/Slow Down/The Ticonderoga/Olive Hearts

For more information on Bowerbirds check our their website or vistit their myspace page.

(artwork by Beth Tacular)