urgencytobleed | Song of the Day #98 (Reply)

Song of the Day

Bowerbirds - Teeth

These guys opened for Joanna Newsom but I figured that post was already massive enough as it was and they probably deserved something a bit more than a passing mention. They're one of those bands whose name has come up a few times for me and I've thought about checking them out but never really got that final push to actually do so. I also get the feeling that this ended up being a good thing because I doubt I would have given them a second listen without seeing them perform live first. Their certain brand of mellow folk-y pop is the kind of music I have a love-hate relationship with precisely because it's so mellow; there's really nothing to grab me and make me want to hear more after only one listen so I disregard it instead of giving it any more of my time. And also, everything sounds better live, right? I purchased their latest album, Upper Air, after the show and have listened to it a few times now. I can't say I completely love it yet but there are a handful of songs I can't get enough of. This one in particular I'm completely obsessed with. What causes them to stand out for me from the dozens of other bands doing the same type of music is the vocals; the male and female vocals just fit together so perfectly and this song is one of the best examples of that. Phil Moore's voice has kind of an Andrew Bird vibe to my ears and Beth Tacular's background vocals remind me of someone else too but I can't think who at the moment - together, they make beautiful musical magic. Also, Beth plays a mean accordion which I think is pretty bad ass.

Also, I know it's lame of me to be so invested in these videos but the music is amazing, especially in this latest one, and I want a whole album of it right now, damn it! It's so beautiful and eerie and atmospheric. And I've actually listened to an mp3 rip of it about twenty times since late last night. I'm that desperate. So if this ends up going nowhere or being distorted beyond recognition so that the actual music sounds far more ordinary, I'm not going to be a happy camper. (Oh, I should probably put a warning here that if you're a massive scaredy-cat you might find the following video a bit creepy... Personally, I don't think any of them are scary or creepy (and I thought I had a low tolerance for all things in those categories) but I guess a lot of people do. So, yeah.)

Watch on YouTube