John Smith 2008-12-11

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

"House with No Home," is a good example of a band successfully forging a fresh sound out of genre conventions. All the ingredients of folk are here: gentle harmonies, "unplugged" instrumentation and deceptively simple song structures. But somehow through it all, Horse Feathers manages to sound like it's own band.

Described by a number of critics as minimalistic (a label that is not completely unfounded), Horse Feathers is at it's best with as few instruments as possible cluttering up the arrangements. The opener, "Curs in the Weeds," and "Albina," (one of the albums strongest tracks) exemplify the age old adage of "less is more," both swelling in and out of emotional climaxes through a combination of acoustic guitars, minimal string sections and affected vocals and lyrics that convey a sense of quiet solemnity. But even when the band is sticking closest to it's roots - as in tracks like "Working Poor," and "Heathen's Kiss," - the songs still seem to transcend generalities and coalesce into something surprisingly honest and heartfelt (though perhaps not necessarily great).

So while every song may not quite stand toe-to-toe with the most impressive tracks on the album, as a whole it works very well as a nice, quiet way to spend a half hour. Horse Feathers has proven (again) that folk can sound new and fresh but still appeal to fans of the genre. Definitely recommended.

Peter G. Simpson 2008-10-26

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

An album I find myself returning to many times after seeing them perform in their home area of Portland, Oregon recently. Violins and other strings along with guitar and banjo are the lead instruments which gives the backing almost a kind of new age sound with a little hint of bluegrass. On top of this, some gentle hesitant vocals and harmonies and some melodies which slowly take hold, make this an oddly compelling album.