Consider the Birds

Woven Hand

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 2004)
• Original Release Date: November 2, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sounds Familyre
• ASIN: B000654YZG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,141 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Aquarius Records
"...This is it. The one. It's magical, dark, mysterious, sinister, gorgeous and moves me like very few records do."

Product Description
Whether fronting seminal Denver band 16 Horsepower or venturing off on his own with Wovenhand, David Eugene Edwards’ voice is unmistakable. Haunting and even abrasive, there is rarely a dull moment to be found when Edwards is behind the pulpit. Diverse in style and delivery, his music is never easy to corner. His latest album under the Wovenhand moniker, Consider The Birds, is no exception. Past influences run the gamut of the bluegrass/folk spectrum. Reviewers like to name-drop Nick Cave & Tom Waits, and have tossed out words like gothic, Americana and even alt-country. In the final analysis, though, no easy tag can be applied to this artist.

Six of the album’s ten songs feature Edwards solo, with little more than his fervent voice carrying the tune. Ordy Garrison (drums), Daniel McMahon (piano) and Shane Trost (bass) fill out the sound on the remaining four tracks. The album was put to tape by Robert Ferbrache, a one-time lap-steel player in 16 HP who runs Absinthe Studios. As we’ve come to expect, it’s impossible to not be confronted by Edwards’ lyrics, which, in the southern literary tradition of Flannery O’Conner or William Faulkner, are saturated with Biblical allusions. The grandson of a fire-and-brimstone preacher, Edwards channels that old-fashioned tent revival spirit well.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One strange little album, January 4, 2005

By	Chet Fakir (DC) - See all my reviews

I recently picked up this record because it was recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust. I wasn't a fan, never heard of David whats-his-name or 16 Horsepower before, but I am now. Consider the Birds is one of the most unique records I've heard all year. The strange and dark songs are reminicent of Dead Can Dance and Leonard Cohen but with a bizarre Christian poetic vision and a bluegrass gospel-gothic twist. I'm not sure what David Eugene Edwards is on about half the time other than he loves (or fears) Jesus/god. This is more visionary poetry put to music than cojent wordplay or religious dogma. He doesn't seem to have an agenda other than to create a powerful emotional response in the listener. I am not a Christian by any stretch of the imagination and usually find religious lyrics to be either uninteresting or offensive such as most (not all) Christian music or laughable, such as the satanic pretentions of black metal (love the music though). But this album's poetry is truly and darkly beautiful, mysterious and powerfully moving. God's love might not be available but his judgement sure is inevitable. David Eugene Edward's god is the old testament one of fire and damnation: its God's way or the highway. And what God wants is a bit misterious and unfathomable to us mere humans, at least to this listener. The music is emotionally complex (there's some chills down the spine stuff here), melodic, and I'm gonna get some more. "The world will bow, the knees will be broken for those who don't know how."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ..., December 18, 2004

By	Matt Bateman (Somewhere else) - See all my reviews

Someone compared Woven Hand's last album to a walk in a dark,creepy forest. It was dense, eerie, and things just sort of appeared here and there. Well, if that's the case, then Consider the Birds is like reaching the end of the woods and realizing everything is still dark and scary as hell. It's not as dense or epic as Blush Music, but it brings a new energy. Edwards wails like his soul depends on it. The guitars wind and weave, the drums make sure you won't fall asleep anytime soon, and the lyrics are as stark and confrontational as you'll find anywhere. Amen, Brother Edwards, Amen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edwards has done it yet again, November 4, 2004

By	Muppet - See all my reviews

If Woven Hand's first album was the sun, then Consider the Birds would be the moon, and a gorgeous moon at that. Edward's seminal effort with Woven Hand was very European sounding and rather high spirited. This album, on the other hand, is exquisitely dark. It's almost reminiscent of 16 Horsepower's last album, Folklore. Still, it's like no music I've ever heard. Each song is a dark little treasure. Edward's lyrics are deeply profound, as always, and bluntly religious; he no longer beats around the bush. The man paints pictures with his music; he is a lyrical genius. Some of the highlights of the album are To Make a Ring: very eastern sounding and cultishly creepy, Down in Yon Forest: the most upbeat, Edward's always does traditional songs extremely well, and Into the Piano: akin to Edward's swan song, Story and Pictures, the desperate melancholy of this song makes you almost want to cry, it's just so beautiful. Enjoy.