Horse Feathers

Some quick true/false facts about the band Horse Feathers and their new album,
So It Is With Us:

1. The record was partially recorded in a barn in a beautiful pastoral setting in rural Oregon
(true, but hasn’t everybody done this now?)

2. The band lives in Portland, OR
(also true, and they are consciously and unconsciously living breathing stereotypes just like the
ones portrayed in Portlandia)

3. Horse Feathers last album charted on Billboard by selling fewer records than they had in the past
(true, but maybe more a comment on the music industry as a whole?)

4. For this album, the band was influenced by the following: Pentangle, Talk Talk, Paul Simon, The Band, Van Morrison, John Wesley Harding era Bob Dylan, Desire era Bob Dylan, and Abner Jay (not what you would have guessed, right?)

Justin Ringle, the man behind all ten years of Horse Feathers, has the following to say about the making of this album, and the current state of his band:

“I wanted to stop. I did all the touring for my fourth record – "Cynic's New Year" – and ended the year 2012 disillusioned and defeated. I didn't touch my guitar for months, which was the longest I had gone in about 15 years. I thought that my career in music was over and wondered if I even wanted to do it anymore. After an arduous period of self-doubt and discovery, I finally arrived at the enlightened idea that maybe it should just be a little more fun. I had grown weary of talking to people after shows who said that my last record “helped them through their divorce”. I have always been flattered by that sort of thing, but I realized what I wanted to hear was how my last record helped them “have a great weekend”. If you have heard any of my previous records you will realize that this transformation from “divorce” band to “weekend” band would be a tall order. And it was! I wouldn’t say we’ve become a “party band” overnight, but I certainly tried to change things a bit.

I enlisted friends to play with me that I trusted and had known for years. Along with longtime bandmates Nathan Crockett (strings/mandolin) and Dustin Dybvig (percusion/drums/keys), I threw Justin Power (bass/vocals) into the mix to have an honest to god rhythm section for the first time. With Lauren Vidal on cello and Brad Parsons singing harmonies, we played an impromptu show at Sasquatch and people liked it. We liked it, and the unusual feeling that I had after that show – which I think is referred to as “joy” – became something I wanted to experience again. I shared more. I stopped editing myself as much. The joy of playing live became its own reward, and I dared myself to allow that joy to shape the songwriting. In the end, I was able to let it go, and I don't own it anymore. Which also feels like joy. That's the way it was, and so it is with us.”

So It Is With Us will be released on Kill Rock Stars on October 21, 2014.

River Wyless

Asheville, North Carolina's River Whyless is a band much like that titular body of water - a mingling of currents, a flow of time and physical space, all brought together in a murmuring sense of purpose. It is the expression of a group of musicians, three of which are songwriters, who have played together in various forms since their college days in the North Carolina mountains. Their forthcoming EP, their first release since their 2012 debut album, is the next evolution of the band's collective voice.

Composed of Ryan O'Keefe (guitars, vocals), Halli Anderson (violin, vocals), Alex McWalters (drums, percussion) and Daniel Shearin (bass, vocals, harmonium, cello, banjo), the band found themselves at a bit of a crossroads when preparing music for a new release. "Sometimes each songwriter really differs quite a bit from the other," said O'Keefe. "We had to figure out how to incorporate everyone's writing style into a cohesive idea. These were the five songs where we could find that common thread."

After the "long and arduous, DIY" process of recording their first album over a period of many months back in 2011, the band elected to decamp to Louisville, Kentucky's La La Land Studio to work with Kevin Ratterman (Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, Ben Sollee) on their new recordings. "We like to get out of town when we write and record. Putting our minds and bodies in a creative place tends to yield the most honest results. In an atmosphere like La La Land you can eat, sleep and breathe the music you're working on without the distractions of everyday life. I enjoy that," added O'Keefe. "We recorded mostly live with just a few overdubs. Kevin likes to move at a good clip in order to capture that magical, synchronistic moment. He also records to tape and uses all this great gear. Tracking this way was new and exciting to us and, I think it shows in the songs." Recording this way captured the chemistry and intuitive bonds of long-time collaborators hitting their stride. As a band who has toured heavily over the years, it reflects River Whyless as a cohesive unit, where each member anticipates the other's move, and effortlessly complements it. The new EP was recorded and mixed in just four days. "I'm more proud of these songs than any others we've recorded" glowed O'Keefe. And it's easy to see why.

The machinery-like percussion that leads track four, "Miles of Skyline," is interwoven with clock-like guitar patterns alongside Shearin's lead vocals. The weeping guitar of "Fine Companion" underpins the stridently hopeful lyrics. "Maple Sap" builds on its multiple metaphors of firewood and sap to ask universal questions we grapple with in stillness with ourselves. "Bath Salt" has a loping rhythm that showcases Anderson's voice finding a mark between Sandy Denny's ethereal plea and Crystal Gayle's country swoon. The English trad-folk sounds are the band's obvious touchstones, putting them in a category similar to contemporaries like Fleet Foxes and Stornoway.