Away With Birds. Away With Birds

Today we present three albums once again, albums that were in fear of slipping through the cracks of this blog. This way they do not. This is the second one, from Sweden we move on to Ireland and Amsterdam.

Ever so soft folk music streams into my room when I put on Away With Birds. Americana is even a better moniker as the influences of this U.S. form of folk/singer-songwriter music is sweeping broadly over this album.

Away With Birds is a duo of two brothers, John and Pat Carrie. Pat making music in Ireland and John for the past two decades from Amsterdam, the original one, with his band Moor Green. In the attic of Sjoerd Spoelstra they've recorded the album in one go. It is impossible to discern that specific fact, but the lo-fi quality of 'Away With Birds' is obvious. There are not a lot of overdubs to be found here, not a truckload of instruments. An acoustic and/or electric guitar, a banjo and faint traces of percussion is what it is. Two voices and the album is ready.

For those enjoying references. I can suffice with two. Away With Birds is the perfect hybrid between Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Elliot Brood. The singing and music are just as frail as Will Oldham can present himself, the more direct way of presenting itself gives the duo the spunk of Elliot Brood. Finally to add some more context I'd mention CSN&Y without the refinement of David Crosby's harmonies and the softness of Graham Nash's voice.

On this album Away With Birds hovers between softness and harshness. The former in the music, the latter in the singing. This ambiguity provides 'Away With Birds' with the quality I like to find in a record like this. 'Finger Food' is perhaps the best example of this ambiguity. "You will be wrapped around my finger" the brothers keep singing, in a song called 'Finger Food'. It sounds rather ominous, doesn't it?

This album may be elementary in playing, arranging and recording, anyone who listens to it more than once will find out for him/herself that it is extremely interesting and grows by the spin. Will 'Away With Birds' be a good album, turning into great over time? Time will tell. It seems I'm on my way there.

Wo.

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g