Blessed Feathers’ album eery and emotive

Blessed Feathers is the kind of band that exemplifies the low-budget sensibility and wandering curiosity necessary to record an album in the group’s apartment. From the Mouths of the Middle Class

Blessed Feathers

Listening Party / Cakes & Tapes

B-

Rocks Like: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes

Blessed Feathers is the kind of band that exemplifies the low-budget sensibility and wandering curiosity necessary to record an album in the group’s apartment.

That’s the story behind Blessed Feathers’ newest album, From the Mouths of the Middle Class. The band spent the winter of late 2010 and early 2011 writing and recording an indie folk album that will haunt listeners.

The music itself isn’t eerie, but Blessed Feathers has a way of writing simple, yet stirring music using guitars, accordions and banjos. Both the band’s instrumentation and lyrics are minimal.

And it works. This album speaks of restlessness, and most of the songs describe treks through the country driven by a search to satisfy an ambiguous desire. The first track, “By Song Through The Americas,” illustrates this perfectly with the lyrics, “I took a trip across the Southern states / And I felt the heat, sweat bead along my face / But we’re lost in the woods / Trading thoughts for goods.”

Later in the same song the band sings, “I wish that I could hitch a ride / And pay my bills at the same time.” The band’s chosen string instruments — particularly given their association with wanderers — set the mood and complement these lyrics perfectly.

On another track, “Apple Blossoms,” the singer merrily declares that there are “apple blossoms in my hair.” Completing the picture, the music imitates hand clapping and picks up the pace to transport listeners to a lively festival. The only problem with this song is that it only lasts a minute and a half, leaving listeners feeling unsatisfied.

Still, the album isn’t flawless. During “Somebody Else’s,” the group sings, “Thinking about love / somebody else’s,” but the last syllables of the lyric slur together. If there’s a meaningful end to this lyric, it is lost. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time the album suffers from a lack of good enunciation.

However, this is a satisfying album overall, featuring music that would fit right in with Pittsburgh’s own folk music scene.