Sep 29 2008
Horse Feathers - House With No Home
- Artist: Horse Feathers
- Album: House With No Home
- Label: Kill Rock Stars
- Release: 2008
- Links: Label Profile, MySpace
The cover of House With No Home, the 2nd full length from Justin Ringle’s Horse Feathers, couldn’t be more appropriate. Its rural imagery compliments the midwestern folk tinges of Ringle’s songs, which are filled out by the beautiful string interplay of siblings Heather and Peter Broderick. For the record, Ringle was born and raised in Idaho and currently lives in Portland, but you get the stylistic description I’m aiming for. House With No Home is Ringle’s first effort for Kill Rock Stars and is one of the more thoughtful releases to hit the label in quite some time. I’m sure I sound cheesy when writing this, but as fall begins, this album and its angelic arrangements feel like the perfect introduction to the new season.
What makes the album click is the diverse arrangements that I just spoke of. Much of that can be credited to Peter Broderick, who has collaborated with a handful of artists that range from Norfolk & Western to Library Tapes and M. Ward. Broderick played a large role in arranging these tracks and, along with his sister Heather, serve as an extraordinary foil to Ringle. It is hard to imagine Ringle’s voice, which has been compared to Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, being better suited for any other genre. Lead track “Curs In The Weeds” is the notable standout, but the album is littered with strong moments. The duo of “Father Reprise” and “Heathen’s Kiss” is equally outstanding. This atmospheric sophomore effort is a clear breakthrough and is well on its way to becoming a sleeper hit.
Tour
10/2/08 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern - w/ Matt Bauer
10/3/08 - Portland, OR @ Holocene
10/5/08 - Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
10/7/08 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
10/8/08 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
10/14/08 - London, UK @ KOKO - w/ Jose Gonzalez
10/15/08 - Liverpool, UK @ The Academy - w/ Jose Gonzalez
10/16/08 - Exeter, UK @ Lemon Groove - w/ Jose Gonzalez
10/17/08 - Canterbury, UK @ Kents International Arts Festival - w/ Jose Gonzalez
10/27/08 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
11/6/08 - Grinnell, IA @ Grinnell College
11/7/08 - Northfield, MN @ Carleton College
11/8/08 - St Paul, MN @ Turf Club - w/ Blitzen Trapper
11/9/08 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas - w/ Blitzen Trapper
11/10/08 - Bloomington, IN @ Locals Only - w/ Blitzen Trapper
11/11/08 - Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music DIner - w/ Blitzen Trapper
11/21/08 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
not sure about your definition of “quite some time” but i take it you feel xiu xiu is not thoughtful?
Hey Slim, thanks for checking out the site. How’d you know I’m not a big Xiu Xiu fan?
To clarify, my comment was directed towards tone as opposed to quality of music. When I think of KRS, with the exception of staples such as Elliott Smith, a more aggressive sound is what comes to mind. Obviously, that isn’t to say music with a harder edge can’t be thoughtful. I was noting that Horse Feathers are one of the more softer, introspective artists (a sound I am often more drawn to, although it depends on my mood) out of KRS’ recent roster. I do respect the KRS label and hope you didn’t take it as a serious slight.