The Clearing - DEAD OCEANS
FILTER Grade: 76%
By Evan Wallis on March 7, 2012
Sonically armed with more electric guitars and instruments than ever before, Phil Moore and Beth Tacular present The Clearing, the Bowerbirds’ most expansive and highly produced album to date. The usual acoustic guitars and strings arrangements open up to thrumming electric guitars and vibraphones that are driven by handclaps and steady drum beats. Whatever instruments the ’Birds use, each song is earnest, humble folk music rooted by lyrics that search for meaning and understanding of life through nature, animals and love. At times the lyrics come across as naïve and disconnected, but on “Brave World,” Moore sings, “I was taught by the land / To think right for myself / And that the man knows all the rules / But I know best.” A testament that the world around them isn’t ignored, they just choose to follow their hearts and create music that’s hauntingly self-revealing.