Bowerbirds

The Bowerbirds sit on the dividing line between the freak folk contingent led by Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom and the more straightforward sunshine pop of Lavender Diamond: for all the self-conscious quirkiness of their lineup and instrumentation, there's an unfeigned positivity to their music that's refreshingly direct. The roots of the Bowerbirds lie in the Raleigh, NC, indie rock trio Ticonderoga, who were led by singer and guitarist Phil Moore. During the recording of the trio's second album, 2005's The Heilig Levine LP, Moore took a job tracking birds for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, which involved living in a cabin in the Carolina woods, far from civilization. Moore's girlfriend, a visual artist named Beth Tacular (born Beth Salmon) joined him in the cabin to work on her painting; at night, Moore began writing songs influenced by the couple's rustic, natural surroundings. When Ticonderoga split up on tour supporting their second album, Moore and Tacular started their own band, the Bowerbirds, with Tacular teaching herself how to play the accordion and acquiring a marching band-style bass drum to keep rudimentary time. In this stripped-down incarnation, the Bowerbirds recorded a six-song EP, Danger at Sea, in 2006. Drafting producer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Paulson to flesh out the duo's sound (amazon.com).

Danger at Sea - 2006



01. My Oldest Memory
02. The Ticonderoga
03. In Our Talons
04. Bur Oak
05. La Denigracion
06. Knives, Snakes & Mesquite

Good Music!

Hymns For a Dark Horse - 2008



1. Hooves
2. In Our Talons
3. Human Hands
4. Dark Horse
5. Bur Oak
6. My Oldest Memory
7. The Marbled Godwit
8. Slow Down
9. The Ticonderoga
10. Olive Hearts
11. La Denigracion
12. Matchstick Maker

Good Music!

Upper Air - 2009



1. House of Diamonds
2. Teeth
3. Silver Clouds
4. Beneath Your Tree
5. Ghost Life
6. Northern Lights
7. Chimes
8. Bright Future
9. Crooked Lust
10. This Day

Good Music!