It's inevitable New York trio Twi The Humble Feather will wear Animal Collective comparisons like bruises, but it's more interesting to look beyond the patterns of their chanting falsettos to the differences. Live, Anthony Lebron, Hektor Fontanez, and Bryan Doring each play an acoustic guitar that accompanies and doubles the harmonies, exhalations, and whispers. You won't find electronics or pedals or boxes. There are no drums, though there is percussion (strings against wood, hands against strings, guitars). Overall, the work exhibits minimal and classical spaciousness, a liberal use of silence. In that sense, it's fitting they recently toured with Jose Gonzalez. "Higher Than The End" is the opening track from the band's five-song debut Music For Spaceships And Forests. It includes some bird sounds and ambient accents, but otherwise seems to be emerging from three sets of hands and vocal cords.
Twi The Humble Feather - "Higher Than The End" (MP3)
Beyond A.C. on some tracks, another comparison could be Grizzly Bear, though Twi's guitars are more prominent/Flamenco intricate, the pauses more pronounced. A helpful set of Influences: "spaceships, forests, lego, grito, gamelan, carl orff (gassenhauer), philip glass (glassworks), animal collective (campfire songs), bach, xenakis, true primes, arvo part, shostakovich (quartet works), carlo domeniconi (koyunbaba), vivaldi, debussy, patrick farmer..."
Music For Spaceships And Forests is out via Friendly Ghost. For further listening head to Twi's MySpace.
[Photo by Julianna Barwick]
