If It's Too Loud...

It's impossible to listen to Brown Bird's Axis Mundi  without thinking about the passing of Dave Lamb. The album was written and recorded during his battle with cancer, and there is a sense of darkness and foreboding throughout the album. "Adolescence" is a plodding dark folk song heightened by crashing drums throughout. "Bannerman" might be the most typical Brown Bird song on the album, with it's up tempo Eastern European guitar sound. The duo also let loose their metal influences for the first time on Axis Mundi. "Blood From the Tree" starts off more typically for the band, and then turns into a metal-folk anthem. Even an instrumental song like "Shadrach" takes on a contemplative and resigned feel. Please listen to Axis Mundi below. You should also head over to Brown Bird's Bandcamp where they're once again offering their Christmas album for purchase. 

Every time we get a new track from Brown Bird, I have such mixed emotions. I love having these new songs, but there are a finite number left. There is a sense of sadness with every one, and with "Adolescence" it's really apparent. It's a song about loss and aging, with lyrics like "Lay me down on sacramental ground," which is even more powerful since Dave Lamb, the man singing the lyrics, is gone. Listening to the song at work was a bad move last week, as it's not quite acceptable for a man in his late 30s to be tearing up at work to a song. But it's such a touching and powerful song. It has Brown Bird's trademark Eastern European tinged folk, but it also showcases their hard rock influences much more strongly than anything else they've done.  Axis Mundi , the final Brown Bird album, is due out April 28 on Supply and Demand Music. You can listen to "Adolescence" below. For more information, and to pre-order the album, head over ...

With their final album coming out April 25, Brown Bird have released the first single, "Bannerman." As with anything Brown Bird related, it's very bittersweet since, with Dave Lamb's passing, this will be it. It's hard to tell if "Bannerman" is as haunting as it is on it's own, or if this information influences the vibe of the song, but this song will just stick into your brain stem for days after hearing it. It's full of Brown Bird's standard Eastern European infused folk, but with this dark, mysterious vibe caused by an almost swirling guitar. It's this very unique direction that I haven't heard in folk before, giving it just the slightest hint of shoegaze without fuzz, if that's possible. I have heard that Axis Mundi  will reflect some of Dave Lamb and MorganEve Swain's more metal influences. Maybe this darkness is just a preview of that. Axis Mundi  is due out April 25, and is available for preorder through their Bandc...