Horse Feathers – House With No Home
Is it right to call this American chamber-folk? I’m not always so good withy the pithy and largely meaningless generalisations, but I guess if you were looking for a box to put this in, then that might be the one.
Horse Feathers first album was much more about plucked strings and banjo than this, which really emphasises the cello and violin, and they twist together in a kind of luxuriant, swirling dance. It’s at once sleepy and romantic, grand and spare. Listening to this record, Horse Feathers seem to have developed a knack of waiting until just when you have decided that you are listening to a sparse, gentle song, before everything suddenly wells up from the silence and spills out around you. Then just as you adjust to this, it’s pack to a gently picked cello and whispered vocals again.
Despite these lovely elements, however, I must say that I regard this record with a little bit of equivocation. As much as it is gorgeous, it seems for me to lack something, although I doubt I would be able to entirely pin down what that is. Maybe I find myself almost feeling like this is a musical exercise, rather than a mission. That’s a really mean thing to say, and it’s more than possible that this simply comes from me losing something in the translation, but while this album is truly gorgeous, I find myself liking it, not loving it.
Horse Feathers – Curs in the Weeds
Horse Feathers – A Burden The strings at the very end of this song are just magic.
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Good, in’t it. You should buy their first album too – really gorgeous.
Am loving it too. You’re right – it appears to be all understated and quiet and then suddenly swells. Beautiful stuff.
I’m adding this to my list of things to buy.
I’m also adding “withy the pithy” to my list of possible album titles.
you’re doing what??
For a potential album title, how about Wits and Sass Over Tits and Ass?
That has a classic ring to it.
For a Whitesnake album perhaps. And they’d be being ironic.
Hey, it’s your line, dude.
Oh hang on, it was mine.
Inspired by you.
I do like Horse Feathers, by the way.
They’ll be on this week’s show, f’shure.
Splendid. And again, let me recommend the previous album which I think I prefer to this one, all told.
[...] out the band’s myspace, read a cool interview with Ringle, and buy the [...]
I mis-pinged you! Sorry about that. I like your writing (especially the oddcasts). Thanks for putting it out there.
Cheers indeed. I wondered about that actually. Interview? Ringle? Didn’t compute at all, but never mind.
i fuckin love this.