Brown Bird / Sea For Salt / Supply & Demand / 2011

Wow! This is some snazzy folk-gypsy-indie-opera stuff, gets your hands thigh-slapping and your lips a’smilin’. Baritone and resonating male vocal (David Lamb) backed by female (MorganEve Swain), very strong, coming in swells, never too corny.
Soulful american tunes, from Rhode Island, with old bluegrass/”Turkish Rebetika” styles mixed into a poppy (yet always smooth) jive that makes knees wobble and lips whistle.
You’ll hear great voices, banjo, violin, double bass, cello, wooden bass drum, in a very neat song that takes the old traditional stuff into a very new setting.
Sounds like : Dark Dark Dark (same label), Caroline Smith (if she was a man), maybe Timber Timbre and older Andrew Bird
FCC Clean

Favorites: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11 (They really are worth listening to any of them)

1*: “Fingers to The Bone” (3:11)- Poppy and lively tune with a strong lead of banjo, makes them essentially a trio
2**: “Chairkickers” (3:18) - A whistle tune! hard to resist, has a dark mid-american vampire waltz feel
3**: “Bilgewater” (3:47) - So soulful, bass drum guides the tune, his voice is priceless
4: “End of Days” (3:03) - Female vocal prominent, violin breaks through perfectly. Melancholy.
5: “Blood of Angels” (3:25) - Upbeat, every follows his voice very well. Catchy.
Slightly more folk. Feel that fiddle! Mmmm!
6**: “Shiloh” (4:05) - Instrumental snap-and-clap along without a doubt, here you feel that Turkish/Greek feel mentioned in the promo. Woah cello and strings, buildup! Really fun stuff.
7: “Ebb & Flow” (2:25) - Back with that wicked banjo. Simpler song, duo singing ebb & flow, strong bass drum gives oomph.
8: “Come My Way” (2:11) - Oo theres the gypsy feel again. soulful, balkans meets US folk.
9*: “Thunder & Lightning” (3:29) - Twanging folk guitar, grand, with the poppy voice and bass throwing in, grows into upbeat. Whoo!
10**: “Nothing Left” (4:10) - Emotional cello-guitar duo and drum bass giving the motions, reminds me of Timber Timbre. Folk opera. Clap-along again, don’t miss it.
11***: “Cast No Shadow” (3:17) - Ah! Too fun. The instruments are from some Emir Kusturica flick caught down-south with the blues. Gypsy-folk dance along.