“The Clearing” is an album that was preceded by a series of ill-fated events, including a car crash, the extreme illness of a band-member and the temporary breakup of two other romantically involved band members.
Fortunately for music lovers, many artists have the ability to turn tragedy into beauty in the form of song.
Bowerbirds is an indie-folk group from North Carolina and is comprised of Philip Moore, his girlfriend Beth Tacular and Mark Paulson. The band has gained recognition over the past few years, with help from stylistically similar musicians such as Justin Vernon, front man of the Grammy award-wining band Bon Iver.
Bowerbirds is often known for its interesting synthesis of melancholic music and beautiful lyrics many times depicting birds and other aspects of nature.
When Tacular, who contributes accordion and vocals to the band, fell ill after the release of their last album, lead vocalist Moore decided to slow things down by moving to a remote cabin in the woods of North Carolina to work on music without distractions.
“The Clearing” will mark the band’s third full-length LP, and may be its best to date.
The album opens with “Tuck the Darkness In,” a song that starts off with shakers, electric guitar and light percussion. It is then built upon, layer by layer, until the end of the song when it hits a brilliant crescendo. The song almost has a marching quality to it and preaches about overcoming darkness.
“Stitch the Hem” begins with soft piano and the soothing “ooh”s that the band has become known for. This track makes it clear that “The Clearing” is an album based upon extremely intricate arrangements. However, through all those moments of pure hectic noise, Bowerbirds seems to make this busyness work.
“Hush” is another stand-out song. It begins with a high-pitched organ hum that imitates the sound of wolves howling. Soon enough, Tacular makes an entrance with her haunting and earthly vocals. Everything about this song, from the offbeat piano notes to the wailing and echoed vocals, gives off a very ghostly and eerie vibe.
This album makes thorough use of electric guitars, which is somewhat rare for Bowerbirds, but it is nice to see that “Overcome with Light” returns to their acoustic roots. The ending chants of “overcome with light” in this song almost sound like a gospel tune.
The album winds down and concludes with the seven-minute ballad “Now We Hurry On,” which begins almost like a slow waltz, until it reaches the two-minute mark when it speeds up with shakers and percussion. The last two minutes of the song drone out with piano notes, bells and high-pitched frequencies.
Bowerbirds hasn’t always been the most accessible band to listen to. Its use of melancholic chords and sometimes bizarre melodies aren’t exactly tunes listeners will sing along with or bob their heads to.
But in its own respect, this album is massively more intricate and mature than the last. But in the end, Bowerbirds is one of the most underrated indie-folk bands out there and “The Clearing” has made for an excellent return to the music scene.
Email Curcio at ncurcio@media.ucla.edu