Bowerbirds, Upper Air
Featured Album
Simple, gorgeous, and profound: Bowerbirds climb higher
"A simple I-love-you, moon/June song, that just doesn't do much for me," Bowerbirds songwriter Phil Moore commented when discussing the earth-centric nature of his band's 2007 debut Hymns For A Dark Horse. He's had perhaps a partial change of heart since then: On Upper Air, Moore shows willingness to write love songs but, true to his word, they're not of the "moon/June" variety. For Moore and his partner (in music and life) Beth Tacular, the result is a line like "You could move like a secret and slip past my life" (from "Silver Clouds"), or "I don't expect a Southern girl to know the Northern Lights" (from "Northern Lights"). Musically, not much has changed here; the Bowerbirds 'sound is still pastoral and elegant, a lush garden bed of strummed, plucked and bowed strings, softly stroked ivory keys, mostly muted percussion, and the buoyant sweetness of Moore and Tacular's voices (sometimes in harmony, sometimes an octave apart in unison). And they haven't foregone their earthly concerns: "You own the stars, you own the thunder, but you have to share it all," they sing on the opening "House Of Diamonds," and on the concluding "This Day," Moore declares his dream of "having a clear view from this house to the heavens." And to the moon, neverminding June.
