When Woodland Nymphs Play Music It Sounds Like This

by | Aug 6, 2009

Breathe Owl Breathe is a great name for a band and it fits the earthy trio from Northern Michigan who goes by that name particularly well.

Breathe Owl Breathe is Trevor Hobbs on percussion, Micah Middaugh on vocals and guitar and Andrea Moreno-Beals on cello, vocals and assorted other instruments. The three are friends who spend part of the year living together in a remote cabin. This summer they’ve been on the road in Alaska and more recently in Oregon. They played Pickathon last weekend and Tuesday we drove out to Hillsboro to see them perform for free at McMenamin’s Cornelius Pass Roadhouse.

Upon hearing the first few songs, Everybody Fields and The Avett Brothers came to mind. But Breathe Owl Breathe has their own thing going, that’s for sure.

Amy Fletcher of the Juneau Empire describes their music:

In lyrics that are at once vivid and obscure, Breathe Owl Breathe sings of mastodons and glaciers, toboggans and boats, evoking landscapes through their music that would be easy enough to imagine were formed right here in Southeast Alaska. However, Northern Michigan is their base, another place where winter encourages creativity.

Micah Middaugh’s deep bass voice and Andrea Moreno-Beals’ gentle soprano describe few coherent pictures but rather hint at images and states. Backed by Middaugh’s guitar, Moreno-Beals’ cello and Trevor Hobbs’ gentle percussion, the three produce unusual songs that linger in the imagination.

Linger they do. We own both Ghost Glacier and Ghost Glacier the EP and we’ve been playing them this week in anticipation of the band’s performance and as a reminder of it.

[MP3 Offering] “Last Dance” by Breathe Owl Breathe