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Songbyrd Presents
Bellows with Fraternal Twin and Stolen Jars
Friday July 28th, 2017
D: 7:00 // S: 8:00 PM
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ABOUT Bellows:
Bellows is the bedroom recording project of songwriter and producer Oliver Kalb. The sound of Bellows is sensory and delicate, subtle and quiet but erupting with frantic wobbling drums, large orchestral sections and bursts of noise that push the conventions of pop and folk. Started in late 2010 in a dorm room at Bard College, Bellows has since blossomed from solo recording experiment into a large-scale rock band, employing the help of The Epoch collective to bring Kalb’s intimate home recordings to life on stage. The live band features Gabrielle Smith (Eskimeaux), Felix Walworth (Told Slant) & Henry Crawford (Small Wonder), each of whose particular sensibilities work to translate Bellows’ intimate recordings into sweeping, loud, and intense live performances.
��Bellows’ sophomore record “Blue Breath” was recorded over the course of three years, in five bedrooms across the country, and was released in 2014 by Dead Labour. The record was recorded by layering dozens of strange sounds over would-be humble folk songs, the result being a soaring pop record that treads the line between minuscule and gigantic. “Blue Breath” was named one of Bob Boilen of NPR’s All Songs Considered’s favorite records of 2014. ��
Bellows’ upcoming third album “Fist & Palm” marks a drastic change in Kalb’s sound. Mixed by Jack Greenleaf (Eskimeaux, Sharpless), the record experiments with aggressive sequenced drums and electronic sounds, taking its influence as much from contemporary pop as it does from early 2000’s Pacific-Northwest lo-fi. “Fist & Palm” will be released in Fall 2016 by Double Double Whammy.
ABOUT Fraternal Twin:
For the past several years, Tom Christie has been arranging an ever-twisting and shifting song of his own. Beginning in New York’s Hudson Valley where he grew up, Tom fleshed out the soft and intricate songs that became the first FraternalTwin album ‘Skin Gets Hot.’ Released quietly in the spring of 2015, the album passed from fan to fan and developed a cult reputation based on its uniquely intimate display of raw emotion.
As it turns out, ‘Homeworlding’ is an impressively natural progression from their debut. In the span of just under a half hour we hear Fleetwood Mac-indebted pop songs, Tom Verlaine-esque guitar leads, ambient composition and watery folk songs quickly passing by in a way that demands repeat listens in order to fully comprehend the depth of the lyrics and songwriting. And while these components all seem disparate on paper, they’re tied together by a very specific sensibility.
ABOUT Stolen Jars:
Each track on glint, Stolen Jars’ visual EP, starts with an impossibly small sound – a keyboard briefly glimmering in warm light, a finger sliding down the neck of a guitar, a chord strummed with just enough space in between the strings that each note sounds alone. Cody Fitzgerald, the group’s songwriter and center of gravity, started writing as Stolen Jars in 2011, and in its evolution his small and intricate introductions have grown into full, powerful statements. Following the success of 2015’s sophomore LP Kept – NPR’s Bob Boilen named Stolen Jars as one of his top ten bands to watch at CMJ, the Deli Magazine featured the band on the cover of its CMJ issue, Stereogum and Consequence of Sound premiered the album’s singles, and the Village Voice ran a feature on the the band’s songwriting practice – glint finds beauty in brief moments of reflection, elongating them with deft chamber orchestration, sorrowfully penned lyrics, and vocal performances from Fitzgerald and collaborator Molly Grund that guide each track from tension to reconciliation and back again. A constellation of musicians orbits the band – vocalists Molly Grund and Sarah Coffey, drummer Matt Marsico, guitarists Connor McGuigan and Peter Enriquez, and keyboard players Grant Meyer and Max Finkelstein make contributions to Stolen Jars and push the band’s energy to its outer edges during live shows.
