Album Notes

Bark Hide and Horn is a four-man folk-rock orchestra hailing from Portland, Oregon. With their dynamic, passionate live shows and lush recordings, they are shimmying out on a distinctive limb of the indie-folk family tree. When singer-songwriter Andy Furgeson isn’t crooning soft, twangy melodies, he’s howling like a fanatical preacher. While he picks or pounds his guitar, Dusty Dybvig lets loose on the drums. If the song calls for it, Dusty will quiet down with brushes or mallets, but left to his own devices he’s an explosive beat machine. Peter Valois locks in on the bass with at once melodic and rhythmic lines, or conjures a soft and eerie air with the vibraphone, glockenspiel, or penny whistle. His vocal harmonies add a tinge of ’60s pop to the mix. Finally, Brian Garvey gives each song a unique treatment with a combination of bombastic trumpet, gritty mandolin, throbbing church organ, delicate electric piano, ephemeral synth, or junkyard percussion. With so many sonic options, the band can shift from plaintive folk to propulsive blues-rock in a heartbeat.