Feral Harmonic

Although it was recorded over three and a half years, FERAL HARMONIC sounds spirited and appealingly slapdash throughout, with slightly out-of-tune guitars and imprecise harmonies completing the package. This isn't folk music per se; it's more akin to a stripped-down version of the musicians' regular bands--including the Appleseed Cast, White Whale, and Boys Life--filtered through a handful of rustic influences, from mountain music to southern gospel. The same combination of lo-fi production and psychedelia that fueled 2004's EARLY MORNING HYMNS still holds court here, however, and the presence of harmonica, banjo, and acoustic guitar reminds listeners that FERAL HARMONIC is, after all, a Saddle Creek release. But the album also expands the definition of the Omaha Sound, striking a balance somewhere between the folk-gothic style of Orenda Fink and the alternative strains of latter-day Bright Eyes.