With "Abode of Kings in a Derelict Kingdom" Gunsling Birds have crafted a brooding, lush album of ruminant indie folk rock. But it's the kind of introspective somberness that you want to listen to on repeat and really inhabit. Its warm vibrance comes often from acoustic guitars, while the song "Donuts for Dinner" is based on grand piano, a drum loop, and wiry guitar sounds. At other times, they let their inner rock gods take over, like the final minute of "Our Blood is Thicker Than This," which segues nicely into the short experimental piece "Landshanty." Album closer "Burning Gasoline And The Midnight Oil" sounds something like Magnetic Fields with a live drum-and-bass beat propelling the piano and guitar. Unexpected chord changes keep the songs going in imaginative places, while core singer/songwriter Scott Hallam's distinctive, hushed vocals call to mind Nick Drake and Ours' singer Jimmy Gnecco.