Twi the Humble Feather and Fredrik played Pianos
The music of New York City’s Twi the Humble Feather sounds like a Wes Anderson movie waiting to happen. Comprising of three acoustic guitarists who all play and sing, often identical or nearly identical parts, the band revels in a cerebral kind of sweet and silly; like a reincarnation of whistles blowing out of a school bus, only here fingers leap in unison like ballerinas and quick gasps of breath make way for a trail of some very important monosyllabic sounds. It turns out, anyhow, that there is a story of cinematic proportions here, and this oddly heartening music owes itself to Twi (pronounced Twai).
Twi, named after twilight for its quality of balance, is front man Anthony Lebron’s beloved fictional character, whose adventures in deep space are so precious, it’s only proper the band devote itself to translating them into worthy musical narratives. Speaking to him after the show, I gathered from Anthony that there are volumes of unwritten Twi stories in his head, though one telling story can be found on the cover of Music for Spaceships and Forests EP in the form of a lovely poem. A brief history I picked up from the conversation: first there was Twi, who met the Humble Feather, the first being Twi ever met, and then the two became one, and the Humble Feather “regurgitated” (to use Anthony’s word) through Twi, hence the deliberate removal of the “and”, which leaves us with Twi the Humble Feather. The band is presently working on a full length album. Download “Higher Than the End“.
Fredrik may be from Sweden, but their music bears little relation to fellow Swedes like Lykke Li, I’m From Barcelona, Ace of Base, et cetera, though perhaps there’s a tiny volume of fleeting Abba remains in some corners of the song posted, “Black Fur”. Overall, though, and especially live, this bunch is more on an Icelandic wavelength: somewhat sullen and somewhat dreamy. The wispy voice and the warm cello give the songs a tint of fragility, but the resilient drums carry the weight, finding its inspiration in marches while rolling along a more gentle path hospitable to delicate melodies. Download “Black Fur“
Pianos, New York
November 15, 2008
