Futurebirds brings its country-rooted indie rock to The Met in Pawtucket
The Futurebirds, from left: Brannen Miles, Thomas Johnson, Dennis Love, Carter King, and Daniel Womack.
By Scott McLennan
Special to the Journal
Most records you listen to with your ears; some you feel in your bones. Futurebirds’ second full-length album, “Baba Yaga,” falls into the latter category.
The 13 songs are full of overlapping textures and finely crafted lyrics that bring to life vivid scenes without losing any of the music’s mystery. Yet for all its emotive force, “Baba Yaga” couldn’t find its way into the world.
Futurebirds made “Baba Yaga” more than a year ago, ready to capitalize on the buzz from its 2010 full-length debut, “Hampton’s Lullaby.” But then the band ran into record-label troubles. Futurebirds’ Carter King says there were times when he thought that the record would never get out.
“We talked to different labels, and they wanted to help, and they’d tell us what we wanted to hear, then we’d find out their vision was different from ours,” King says in a recent interview while Futurebirds was on tour with Band of Horses.
Fat Possum records and Futurebirds eventually came together for an April release for “Baba Yaga,” so named after a mythical woodland creature that eats kids.
Considering the bruising ache coursing through the album, it’s either ironic or prophetic that the band had such a hard time releasing such a good album. The details in songs such as “Virginia Slims,” “Death Awaits,” “Keith and Donna” and “Tan Lines” matter less than the emotional resonance these songs conjure. The band isn’t summoning “happy” or “sad,” but rather creating intricate swirls of feelings that more closely echo real life while sounding completely otherworldly.
“All of the reviews have been homing in on different songs and different aspects of the record,” King says. “I love that.”
Futurebirds craft a country-rooted brand of indie rock, so there is an orchestrated collision of the traditional and the experimental. In addition to playing guitars and singing, King plays banjo and drums. Likewise, guitarist and singer Thomas Johnson plays banjo and mandolin. Dennis Love plays pedal steel guitar, giving the songs not only a strong roots-music flavor but also an ethereal, Southern-gothic accent. Brannen Miles is the bass player, and Daniel Womack handles guitars and banjo. Drummer Payton Bradford left the band after “Baba Yaga” was completed. This group, which came together in 2008 in Athens, Ga., spreads the songwriting around, adding to the multi-faceted effect of its sound.
“We spent a lot more time on this record because we could afford to. It wasn’t a case of just putting guitars here, and maybe keys there. We could think about parts and lay it all down in service to the songs,” King says.
So the album ended up with a span ranging from the fairly stripped down (and woefully sad) “Strangers” to the layers of shimmer ’n’ strum on the defiant “American Cowboy.”
Futurebirds plays Tuesday at the Met in Pawtucket. While some of the songs on “Baba Yaga” have lived in the band’s set lists even before they were recorded, others are just finding their way to the stage. King says the band looks for ways to change up songs from their album versions, sometimes out of necessity, though often because he sees the stage and studio as separate environments.
“Some songs have a lot of overdubs, so you can’t do that live. But these songs are strong enough that we can find interesting ways to play them live,” King says. “I always hated shows when the songs sounded just like they do on the record.”
Scott McLennan can be reached at smclennan1010@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottMcLennan1
Futurebirds — along with Burlapan and Milk — plays Tuesday night at 8 at The Met, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket. Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 the day of the show. Call (401) 729-1005 or go to themetri.com.
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