Words Are Dead

Words are Dead is a stunning debut album from the Portland folk-songwriter duo Horse Feathers. Justin Ringle's voice fills out a room with startling results, carrying a strength and confidence that elaborates on the burdens of broken relationships and estranged personal dealings. The album's stark honesty and open-wound vocal deliveries are as personally effecting as they are orchestrated musically, and for that credit is due to prodigal multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick, who jumps from instrument to instrument. Songs diverge stylistically yet manage to stay cohesive as a whole. The album retains a very natural feel, allowing the songs to speak for themselves with a relatively transparent fidelity. By using a variety of instrumental arrangements including guitar, banjo, percussion, piano, musical saw, and strings, Horse Feathers draws from a palette of sounds that is old in approach yet fresh in execution. Relying on an unusual mix of stark arrangements with dynamic accents, their sound glistens with efficiency. Influenced by the mood of such artists as Nick Drake, Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen, Will Oldham, and Cat Power, Horse Feathers evokes the sound of being optimistically broken. Simultaneously dour yet beautiful, they offer the listener an unflinching glimpse into moments of personal reflection.