Hidden Shoal Recordings today announced the release of the single ‘Rainbirds’ by American ambient experimental pop duo Boxharp.

‘Rainbirds’ is a cascading, enrapturing, bejewelled feast of a song that displays the full bloom of Boxharp’s talents. Chiming melodies interweave beautifully with ambient textures and Wendy Allen’s pure vocals, giving way to a transcendent harmonised middle eight. The melodies return, crested by sparkling, wavering tones – and then, as if the door to the most intricate Cornell shadow box closes in front of you, it’s all over. ‘Rainbirds’ is taken from the the Loam Arcane EP, a four track cabinet of curiosities out in the new year.

For Boxharp, inspiration comes from 78s of Burl Ives and John Jacob Niles’ children’s songs played on a Fisher Price record player, and Zoviet France albums encased in burlap and tinfoil. Field recordings, layered harmonies, found objects, obsolete hand-me-down machines – all these things brought producer Scott Solter and singer Wendy Allen together. In their music, the disparate parts lead down diverse paths, rich in atmosphere and emotional resonance.

Allen and Solter moved to the quiet, lonely, rural atmosphere of the American South in 2006. Allen says, “We moved there for the space and the solitude and we were unprepared for how much of that we got. Themes of nameless grief that run through my family roots in the Virginia mountains make up a large part of the lyrical content.”

Allen has played and toured with several bands since the start of the decade, including The Court and Spark, Tarantel, Paula Frasier (of Tarnation), William Lazarus, and Howard Hello, as well as writing film scores for small indie film projects. She is a member of The Balustrade Ensemble. As a producer, recordist and mixer, Solter has worked with numerous indie artists, including Erik Friedlander, Spoon, The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, Lazarus, The Forms, Pattern is Movement, Superchunk, Okkervil River, Liam Singer, and St Vincent as well as releasing  two wonderful solo albums, The Brief Light on Manifold Records (2003) and One River on Tell-All Records (2005). He has also executed a number of remixes, including the full-lengths Scott Solter Re-Populates The Caribbean (Hidden Shoal, 2009), Scott Solter Remixes Pixel Revolt in Analog (digital download, 2007), Canonic: Scott Solter Plays Pattern is Movement (Home-Tapes 2006), and MGM Endings/Cellar Door Remixes (Artichoke, 2004), as well as remixes for Division Day, Voices Voices, and Neon Indian, among others. He is a member of The Balustrade Ensemble and produced 2007’s Capsules for Dynamophone Records.

‘Rainbirds’ is taken from the forthcoming Loam Arcane EP and is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store until the EP’s release on 12th January 2010. Their forthcoming album The Green is released on 20th April 2010, preceded by a single on 2nd March 2010.

Read a full press release here.

Boxharp – Rainbirds Boxharp – Rainbirds

Posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 5:59 am
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