Since 1998, The Lesser Birds of Paradise have evolved from charming folk-pop to a more ambitious, textured craft. Over the last few years, their sound has been refined to its most organic elements, and their appeal has developed beyond the Chicago indie-rock scene. Space Between, the trio's third album, is their strongest and most focused work yet.
Following the lovely A Suitable Frame and It Isn't the Fall EP (both on Loose Thread Recordings) and several national tours, 2004's String of Bees (Contraphonic Music) was met with a larger national presence, and critical acclaim. Rockpile declared, "records like this only come along a few times a year... [their] best effort to date." Back home, the Chicago Reader proclaimed String of Bees to be "so gorgeous it's almost toxic." The Lesser Birds quickly followed that with The Scenery EP (Tight Ship Records). Recorded mostly live in half a day, with very few overdubs, its resulting sparseness and openness was a nice compliment to String of Bees' layered textures and subtle studio trickery.
The Lesser Birds' subtle experiments and arrangements, which acted as flourishes on previous releases, developed into integral muscle on the mesmeric Space Between. With emphasis on every detail, Space Between opens up secret passageways of sound, where melodies aren't so much played as naturally grown, where single notes, pump organs, xylophones, muted drums, and echoing voices, layer in a warm, seductive embrace. Coupled with tapestries of American Gothic narratives, sly humor, animal characters, and Robert Creeley-cum-Charles Olson poetics, The Lesser Birds of Paradise have created a record of lasting impression and importance, and emerge as one of the more original bands today. |
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