Upper Air Finds Heaven All Around Us
Bowerbirds soar on sophomore release
Bowerbirds
Upper Air
Released on Jul 07, 2009
The
title of Bowerbirds’ second LP is curious, indeed. As on 2007’s
fantastic full-length debut Hymns for a Dark Horse, the lyrical
and instrumental content of Upper Air is informed by a deep connective
bond with the world as we see it from the ground. Phil Moore and company
find the beauty and uncertainty of the human condition as readily in
clouds, canyons, and wild animals as in the look on a lover’s face.
Engaging and honest, with sufficient variation in style to distinguish
it from its predecessor, Upper Air is thus far one of the finest
albums of 2009.
Moore’s
quietly charismatic vocal presence and lyrical gift for interposing
nature with stark emotional truth continue to drive the band’s sound.
“Silver Clouds” conveys the fear of a fleeting relationship in one
of the album’s lyrical highlights, with Moore lamenting that “you
could move like a silver cloud through the sky/you could move like a
secret and slip past my life.” The album is not all double meaning
and clever wordplay. On the classic rock-influenced “Northern Lights,” Upper Air’s devastating centerpiece, Moore seemingly recognizes
that the ability to relate the human experience to natural phenomena
is no substitute for directness: “I don’t expect a Southern girl
to know the Northern Lights…all I want is your eyes.”
Upper
Air is not entirely about Moore. As on Hymns, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist
Beth Tacular provides an effective vocal counterpoint, adding assured,
well-constructed harmony parts throughout the record and sharing lead
vocal duties on “Beneath Your Tree.” Confident instrumentation
throughout Upper Air adds elements unseen in prior recordings
and establishes Bowerbirds as a “proper” band, rather than as mere
backing for Moore’s songs. Particularly striking is the drum work
on the Afro-Caribbean-influenced late-album highlight “Crooked Lust,”
and the use of electric organ on the droning “Chimes.”
The album may not appeal to everyone as it has to me. Though the conservationist political bent of Bowerbirds’ earlier material has been toned down in favor of a more metaphorical approach, if you are at all uncomfortable with hearing that “you are free from the greed of your culture…from the lust for the luster of the diamond houses,” run. This record is about nature and all kinds of hippie folk shit, and it’s not for you. You won’t like it. Alternately, fans of the band hoping for a drastic departure from Hymns and the group’s various EPs and singles will be disappointed by the generally modest progression of Upper Air. Still, added vocal touches and the subtle incorporation of rock elements in the band’s sound make one curious as to whether a Newport Moment is on the horizon. Ultimately, there’s no cause for concern one way or the other: the songs are too damned good.
High Point
Affecting but not affected, Upper Air is a master class in songwriting that beats down your inner cynic and gets better on every listen.
Low Point
Indie-folk is so 2008.
Posted by Miguel Harvey on Jul 23, 2009 @ 6:00 am
