If It's Too Loud...

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...

I have no idea how this one slipped by me, but over the summer MorganEve Swain of Brown Bird released the first song under her new project, The Huntress. "Call to Arms"  is the first song she wrote after losing her husband and band mate, Dave Lamb, to leukemia last year. It was inspired by a friend of theirs who helped her through her grief. Obviously, it's a painfully dark song, with Brown Bird's Eastern European folk sound, and just a peek into their metal influences. It's a beautiful tribute, and inherently a must listen for all Brown Bird fans. Brown Bird's final album, Axis Mundi , will be released April 28. In the past months, MorganEve Swain has toured with Joe Fletcher, and is currently on the road with The Devil Makes Three in Europe. Rhode Island Monthly just came out with a fabulous interview with her. I highly recommend checking it out here . To listen to the debut song from The Huntress, make sure you head over to her Bandcamp page , and also ...

This release is one of the few times as a music writer that words truly escape me. I'm going to use MorganEve Swain's explanation for it: One night in mid-December of Dave's and my first year together, we were snowed in, drinking strong eggnog and dressing up in each other's winter clothes when we decided to take our silliness one step further and write a holiday song. "The Old Church Bell" was the first song we ever co-wrote. We had so much fun with it that that same night we recorded a version of "Silent Night" too, using almost every instrument we had in the house- just having fun with it and each other. Every winter since then, we kept the tradition of recording a few Christmas songs, which we would hand-package and give as gifts to our families. This year, I thought it'd be special and important to make these songs available to our extended family, in an effort to send something fun into the world and keep Dave's cheerful, fun-loving...

For those of you who don't know, Dave Lamb from Brown Bird was diagnosed with leukemia last year. Any form of leukemia or cancer diagnosis is scary and hard enough, but for musicians it can be especially hard since the vast majority are self employed and without insurance. Plus, while going through procedures and recovery, Brown Bird has been unable to tour, cutting off virtually all incoming revenue. Luckily, Brown Bird are a fairly successful and known band so they were able to start a YouCaring to help defer the costs. If you're a fan of Brown Bird, it's definitely worth checking out the video. Unfortunately, health insurance is a political firestorm right now, so I will mention the video was put together with HeadCount.org and implores people to look into getting health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. I try to avoid politics on this blog, but I would hope health insurance can slide by just this once. If you'd prefer, you can go here to watch them per...