Dirtbird is the ethereal, mysterious musical project of Australian singer-songwriter David M. Lewis. Beautiful, close harmonies, soaring cello, sparsely pulsing acoustic guitar, and slow, sad songs about mythical journeys and the end of the world are some of the elements which Lewis and his ever-changing team of fellow Dirtbirders weave in and out of the organic quietness which has become the Dirtbird sound.
With each of Dirtbird's four albums, High Water Dover (2004), White Horse Road (2007), Cathedral (2008) and The Traveller (2010), Lewis has refined these elements more and more, adding new dimensions of space and mystery into his dark, visionary songs.
The new CD, The Traveller, was recorded by US producer Kramer (who has produced bands such as Low, Bonnie Prince Billy, John Spencer and Galaxie 500), and represents something of a shift for the band, as it has a spookier, looser sound than their earlier records (due in no small part to the shimmering production which Kramer brings to the project).
The songs themselves are often written using a "cut-up" technique (in the old-fashioned, literal sense of the word), which has the effect of making them sound as if they have been imperfectly translated from some ancient language, inviting comparisons to artists like Low, M. Ward, Damien Jurado and Gillian Welch. Dirtbird's sound, however, and the world which they seem to inhabit, is entirely their own.
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