The Bowerbirds are back with, literally, more electricity.
The indie-acoustic crew has increasingly plugged in on each album, with this new set “The Clearing” sounding like it will be no exception. The North Carolina-based couple-duo of Beth Tacular (spec-tacular!) and Phil Moore have unleashed the first view into the darkness — that is, “Tuck the Darkness In,” which provides about a minute and a half of guitar bliss at the end.
Bowerbirds’ story is intriguing, considering they’re absolutely 100% tree-hugging hippie Earth-love rural dwellers, and they are 0% obnoxious about it. Their lyrics have been consistently intelligent and uncloyingly endearing, with lots of natural imagery, like romantic poetry for ecological responsibility. And romantic is right — this album promises to address the duo’s own relationship foibles and successes. Check this out, from the official press release:
Between 2009″s Upper Air and this one, Beth nearly died after a mysterious illness that put her in the hospital. They rescued and adopted a dog that ran beneath their tour van”s tires. Beth and Phil even ended their long relationship but began it again after realizing that, despite their own shortcomings, they didn”t want to be with anyone else. Mostly, though, they returned to their cabin in the woods of North Carolina to nest-to make soup and walk dogs, to make art and write songs, to realize that this was their life and find contentment in it.
Good Lord, so twee… and so much potential!
Check out “Tuck the Darkness In” below.
“The Clearing” is out on March 6.
Here are Bowerbirds’ tour dates: