Laura Gibson: Guitars, Vocals
Sean Ogilvie: Keyboard, Drums, Accordion, Ukelin, Wisdom of Ages
Micah Rabwin: Drums, Saw, Banjo, Melodica, Facts and Figures
Influences
beasts of many seasons, shadows on parade.
Sounds Like
"She makes a person want to close their eyes and just bask in a star-filled night" - daytrotter.com
“One of the year's most breathtaking albums. Beasts of Seasons is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience.” - NPR
UK BOOKING: Rob Challice of CODA agency, rob@codaagency.com
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"Both quietly devastating and life affirming"
MOJO (4/5 STARS)
"An arrestingly understated, accomplished work – one that ought to see her emerge from the shadow of her contemporaries with no little grace."
Drowned in Sound (8/10)
"The idiosyncrasies in Gibson's forlorn croak and the deep melancholy of her observations make for a genuinely moving listen"
Q (4/5 STARS)
""An album that lives with you long after the last note fades"
The Sun (4/5 STARS)
"A soft glowing treasure as the nights grow colder"
Time Out London (4/5 STARS)
"Gibson treats syllables with the same patience and loving precision a mosaic maker might put into cutting and arranging his/her tiles...rewards repeat listens"
Pitchfork
One of the year's most breathtaking albums. Beasts of Seasons is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience. If it's the sonic equivalent of darkness and what may be lurking there, then Gibson's fragile voice and plaintively strummed guitar soon emerge as a flicker of light. It's a mesmerizing contrast, as the curtain rises for Gibson's beautifully gloomy and arresting meditations on life and death.”
NPR National Public Radio
“A new soundtrack for your next long hike through the enchanted forest."
Rolling Stone
Laura Gibson lives in portland, sings songs and plays a nylon-stringed guitar. She grew up in a small isolated logging town called Coquille, in the South Coast region of Oregon, the daughter of the town’s kindergarten teacher and a forest ranger. She couldn’t tell you what band put out what particular album in what year, but she could probably describe where she was, how she felt and what you talked about, when she first met you, or what the trees looked like the last time her heart was broken...she likes trees.
Beast of Seasons opens with a hum and drone, a veil of fog conjuring a sense of atmosphere not unlike the Pacific Northwest coastal timber town where Laura Gibson was raised. A plaintive strum emerges with a voice in tow; a candle, a tender and flickering wisp of a voice suffusing the space with a warm glow. This voice, registering as little more than a whisper, rises above the subtle and evocative instrumentation with uncommon intimacy. Coos and cracks, chirps and slurs, clucks and purrs all come into focus with perceptive musicality.
Steeped in the fingerpick-guitar rudiments of folk music, inspired by the expressionism of classic jazz vocalists, and finding common ground in the minimalism and ear-taunting of the avant garde, Gibson reveals that her own singing is more informed by a sensitivity and self exploration than by training. “I like to feel the rumble in my sternum and the vibrations in the back of my throat when I sing”
Equally deliberate, and as a nod to the vinyl record era, Beast Of Seasons is split into two parts. Part 1: Communion Songs, and Part II: Funeral Songs. “In looking back over these songs, I found two themes arising: First, reaching towards something outside of ourselves, be it a lover or god or family (Communion Songs) and second, grappling with the idea of ultimate aloneness and acceptance (Funeral Songs).” The songs isolate distinct and familiar emotions from the many reactions to death, ranging from fear (”Where Have All Your Good Words Gone”), and denial (”Sweet Deception”), to brave acceptance (”Funeral Song”).
As a whole, the record might be interpreted as nine meditations on mortality. This is not to say it is a work of philosophy, but rather a group of meditations, or gut reactions to the idea of death. Written from a room in a house overlooking the mossy gravestones and mature maples of one of Portland’s oldest cemeteries, Gibson notes she finished the last song just days before moving out. “When I was finished I felt a great relief,” she offers, as if an epilogue to the opening line of the album: “I have carried beasts for many seasons…”
Though each song dances around the theme of death, ultimately, they reflect the urgency of life.
*CURRENTLY*
Laura is working on a collaborative project with Avant Electronic artist Ethan Rose, which will be released in early 2010.
She has contributed to many recording projects in her spare time (Colin Meloy, The Dodos, White Hinterland, Musee Mecanique, Raulson, Portland Cello Project).
hi Laura Just listenning to your LP ... (you gave it to me when we did that nice home show together in Paris ... ) I just wanted to say thank you let me know if you have plans to come back here again see you r.
Hello friends. I wanted to thank you for all your support in 2009 I really hope you all had a safe and peaceful new year. “We ruined Christmas 09” was a really fun event, So kudos to all those peps that made it down to my first show. Special thanks to my man! Paul Kruithoff and love at this volume for their outstanding work and commitment, gracias señores
This year I will be releasing a new DIY Cd that I really can’t wait to shear with you all. So please visit my space from time to time for updates a listen or a chat
I realise that this comment is not at all personal But I do try to reply to as many of my comments and messages as I can
Season's Greetings! "The Valley" is now available for order and would look fabulous in your Christmas stocking :-). New songs up too. Have a wonderful holiday!
Hope you have many great things happening this year!! Its a great New Year for us too. Check out our revised page with updated samples and information on affordable, high-quality mastering.
Hey there, I've been listening to Beasts of Seasons, it sounds new and old at the same time — my favorite kind of music. Your voice is wonderful. Hope you come by Lisbon on your next European tour, if not maybe I'll see you in Portland sometime — so many of the artists I love the most are over there that I'll have to visit sooner or later. cheers, Francisca (minta & the brook trout)
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