Three Imaginary Girls - Horse Feathers

Rad bands for a great cause: the NFTN 2010 lineup

imaginary victoria — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:48:45 +0000

{photo credit: the lovely Laura Musselman, courtesy of our imaginary flickr pool}

Now that we're all done with Sasquatch, it's time to set our sights on the next raddest lineup to hit the west coast: it's Noise for the Needy, 2010 edition. There's close to seventy-five bands and djs playing a baker's dozen of venues next weekend, when NFTN takes over every corner of Seattle from June 9th (Thursday) through the 13th (Sunday). Among the notables in big font this year are John Vanderslice, Visqueen, Horse Feathers, Delta Spirit, the Maldives, The Album Leaf, Animals at Night, The Portland Cello Project, and The Redwood Plan -- along with enough supporting acts to make your head spin. Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets, or you can just buy a la carte at each show / venue -- although there's some sweet all-access wristband deals being offered if you want to rock it like that.

Pre-Order new Horse Feathers 7-inch

heather b — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:34:22 +0000

I totally love Horse Feathers and can't wait for some new lumberjack love!

From buyolympia.com:

Horse Feathers' debut album on Kill Rock Stars, "House With No Home", garnered excellent press as expected, but also sold five times as much as their previous release. The band's constant touring to packed houses has created a quiet groundswell of support which buoyed the band up to its current position as one of KRS's breakthrough bands of 2008. This 7" is another delicious morsel to tide the fans over while the band finishes recording its follow-up to "House With No Home", due in April 2010.

Lumberjack Rock

heather b — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:55:24 +0000

Chris B's Schmindie News Roundup and it's ensuing comments lit a fire under me to write this little blurb I've been meaning to get out for a while. While some, Chris B included, may feel this way:

I'm regularly asked to define schmindie, so, to me, schmindie is boring indie rock that gets the benefit of the doubt because it's "indie". Generally, if it has guys with beards and/or acoustic guitars, you're probably going to need to wake me when it's over.

I tend to disagree. I totally love me some good ol' acoustic indie-folk rock and I feel like there is so much quality stuff coming out of Seattle right now. For the past year or so, I've often found myself in discussions with other local music lovers regarding the post-grunge Seattle sound and I've heard it called several things: "Campfire Rock", "Trucker Rock", "Beard Rock" and now this "Schmindie" label.

Horse Feathers at the Sunset Tavern

heather b — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:59:48 +0000

11 Feb 2009

I was tremendously happy to see Horse Feather's third show at the Sunset Tavern last Wednesday night. I only just heard them on KEXP a few days earlier and immediately bought their latest album House With No Home. Lately I've really been getting back into the local country/folk sounds that have been coming out lately and the sweetness of it caught my attention.

The band consists of Justin Ringle on voice and accoustic guitar, accompanied by a cellist (Catherine O'Dell), violin player (Nathan Crockett) and another dude (Sam Cooper) who played a stripped down drumkit, a mandolin, a second violin and a banjo. God love 'em, a banjo.

The Portland-based band was very unpretentious and unassuming when they took the stage that night. Even their tuneup sounded divine and I couldn't wait for the show to start. Ringle looks a bit like Will Oldham, or like a cross country trucker, in his plaid shirt, big ol' belt buckle and bearded face. Apparently he prefers not to face his audience while he performs, which gave me a perfect full-on view of him as I was standing off to one side of the tiny stage. During tuning, the Sunset audience was chattering loudly and I was worried that they wouldn't give the band the appropriate respect they deserved. Into the first simple bars of the initial song, the audience was still abuzz. The faint plucking on the violin and bass could barely be heard, along with singular notes on the banjo. But suddenly as if on cue, the entire joint stood in enraptured silence as the band broke loose on "Helen". Not a single breath could be heard, only the occasional apologetic chugging of the credit card machine.

Without any break, Horse Feathers launched neatly into their second tune "Finch", from their 2006 album Words Are Dead. For such mellow music, Ringle is surprisingly animated onstage, at times looking either pained or exultant. It appeared as though the music had indeed taken over his body and his facial expressions. But oh! that voice. I was already completely and totally in love with that man's voice.

The band took a few minutes to tune while Justin thanked the opening acts, Mighty Tiger and Ah Holly Family, and then quickly drew us in with the bluegrass-infused "Working Poor". The prominent, sweet fiddling and banjo work were high quality and the backing band did a nice three-part harmony which was reminiscent of a summer hymnal. Next up was the song that drew me in a few days previous, "Cur In the Weeds". It began with heart-wrenching simplicity and then the music purely swelled with a heavy buildup on the bridge, the vioin racing along with our hearts. You could just feel the audience holding it's collective breath as the song ended with a singular dustbowl-infused pace.

The band paused again for another tuneup and then continued with the more orchestral "Blood on the Snow", followed by "Mother's Sick" with a more classic country-fried sound. I was content where I stood just to watch Horse Feather's charismatic frontman and marvel at both his amazing talent and intriguing stage presence. As he skillfully leads the band with his accoustic guitar, Ringle bends and sways with the music, stomping his foot so hard on the stage I can feel it where I stand.

Contorting his face as he sings, he sometimes appears vicious and visceral, other times angelic. Much, much respect is owed to the rest of the band and I was humbled by their immense talents. I'm glad to know that some band geeks can make it good. Even seated and slightly in the background, they were just as much a part of the experience. Following another tune break (all those strings must be a bitch!), we were treated to "Albina". There's not much to say, it was just So Nice. The violinists were totally sawing at their instruments, creating a sense of urgency in their tone.

"Walking and Running" began with Justin on vocals and accoustic alone, followed by a single violin fading back to just the guitar, barely a murmur, so quiet I almost thought he'd stopped playing. Enter the solitary banjo, followed by very, very quiet backing vocals. All of the Sunset stood stock-still and completely silent, so quiet I could hear someone opening a bag of chips backstage. I was glad to hear that version of the song, the recorded version is a little more upbeat, so this was a nice variation.

"Heathen's Kiss" was the highlight of the whole show for me. It's one of the more complex songs in their catalogue and has a real "Deadwood" feel to it, calling to mind a hot, dusty and bloodstained Old West. The ghoulish, western-styled strings really took center stage, until homeboy busted out a saw (swoon) which just added more to the creepy, desperate Gold Rush-vibe. Ringle's voice rose above it all with a howl. The song concluded with some really nice harmonies from the band and great percussive style. I was totally taken away to a place where I could practically smell the whiskey and fresh timber. I'll go back again and again just to hear them perform that one song. For serious...

This was followed by the sweet and innocent-sounding "Father" and then "Falling Through The Roof". Finally they really pulled out all the stops on the last song, "Rude to Rile", with pounding drums, crashing cymbals and the violinist maniacally rocking back and forth. It totally had an Arcade Fire thing going. It ended very abruptly and that was the set! I was sorry to see it end, but relieved and thankful to have seen it at all.

Ringle looks a bit like Will Oldham, or like a cross country trucker, in his plaid shirt, big ol' belt buckle and bearded face.

Kill Rock Stars signs NW band Horse Feathers

imaginary dana — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:14:01 +0000

This just in thanks to Aversion -- Portland alt-country band Horse Feathers just joined the roster over at Kill Rock Stars

Words Are Dead

Barbara Mitchell — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:00:00 +0000

7.6

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000H5TV4O/wwwthreeimagi-20

HorseFeathers07jan.jpg

Horses don't really have feathers, of course — but Horse Feathers' whimsical name is perfectly suited to the band's fanciful, swoon-inducing music.

This Portland duo, comprised of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Justin Ringle and multi-instrumental wunderkind Peter Broderick, is turning heads (and breaking hearts) with its debut album, Words Are Dead. A collection of sparsely beautiful chamber-folk built around Ringle's ghostly whisper of a voice and Broderick's sweeping violin, the record has garnered repeated comparisons to the mellow sounds of Nick Drake, among others.

While Drake's spectral music always seems on the verge of floating into the ether, Horse Feathers traffics in flesh and blood. Songs sigh and moan, build and release — usually on the back of Broderick's gloriously expressive and tastefully understated playing. It's haunting, to be sure, but mostly because the music — like any master painting — manages to capture a fleeting mood and emotion so precisely.

From the opening strains of "Hardwood Floors," it's hard not to fall under Horse Feathers' spell, but a bit of advice: approach listening to Words Are Dead the same way you would a leisurely stroll through the park: take your time and soak it all in or you'll miss the small wonders that abound.

And abound they do. Whether it's the lilting "Finch On Sunday," the spare and understated "In Our Blood," or the galloping "Dustbowl," (which almost sounds like a banjo-fied Decemberists outtake) the songs are shining examples of the art of dynamics and the beauty that an arsenal of instruments (musical saw, violin, viola, mandolin, piano, and cello, among others) can create in the right hands.

While the album title might speak of their demise, Horse Feathers understands that language goes beyond words. At the same time, Ringle proves he's on in the verbal department, delivering wounded lines like "sadness comes in different shades" that match the music and create an impression even greater than the sum of its parts.

With the overwhelming abundance of music being released these days, it's rare to find a young band this immediately gripping, and a record that holds your attention start to finish. Meet Horse Feathers — you'll be friends for a long, long time.

A collection of sparsely beautiful chamber-folk built around Ringle's ghostly whisper of a voice and Broderick's sweeping violin, the record has garnered repeated comparisons to the mellow sounds of Nick Drake, among others.