Horse Feathers

As the decade drags to a close and music fans are left to make sense of it all, one thing is clear: Amid the massive success that genres such as indie pop, rap and metal have had over the past ten years, Americana is alive, strong and continuing to evolve...

By Jason Heller

November 12, 2009

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As the decade drags to a close and music fans are left to make sense of it all, one thing is clear: Amid the massive success that genres such as indie pop, rap and metal have had over the past ten years, Americana is alive, strong and continuing to evolve. Portland's Horse Feathers is one of the newer groups to till the raw, sepia-tinted soil of roots music and seed it with something delicate and vibrant. On their sophomore album, 2008's House With No Home, leader Justin Ringle and company employ acoustic guitar, musical saw, banjo, mandolin, cello and rich harmonies to forge a sound that owes as much to vintage country, folk and blues as it does to contemporaries like Iron & Wine and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. In true traditionalist mode, the band is hitting up the hi-dive on Friday while touring behind a new seven-inch vinyl single titled "Cascades" — another example of Horse Feathers' weary, whispery charm and unvarnished melancholy.

Jason Heller is a staff writer at Westword. He's the author of the book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (Melville House/Penguin Random House), and has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR.org. His work has won a Hugo Award and a Colorado Press Association Award.

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