Bowerbirds

"In Our Talons"

Shipwrecked. Pirates. Barnacles. These are a few things that come to mind when listening to “In Our Talons” from The Bowerbirds album Hymns For A Dark Horse. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things either-- the imagery is more than welcome. The album is full of beautiful, dusky barroom folk which ranges from tender acoustic ditties to brothel-blues numbers. “In Our Talons” rides a current of booming percussion and accordion. A chorus of voices proclaim “You’re not alone, you’re in our talons now.” Only here does the percussion rest, and the gentle acoustic finger-picking can be heard over the accordions drawn out melody. You can’t help but imagine being surrounded by the torrential sea, resting only in the comfort of some guardian bird’s talons (a Bowerbird, perhaps?). Hymns For A Dark Horse is definitely a unique listen. The band will probably be compared to The Decemberists for lack of a better parallel. But where the Decemberists spin elaborate tales pointing towards the past, The Bowerbirds seem to make ancient music rooted in the here and now. For them, this is the weary sound of reality; the sounds of the ghost of the present day.



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