Allison Russell and JT Nero, the two band members who make up Birds of Chicago, are not just playing music together, but they’re also married. Having met while playing in two separate bands (JT and the Clouds + ‘Po Girl), the duo starting singing together and later released their self-titled debut album in 2012.
Birds of Chicago’s sound is an energetic, bluesey folk-Americana. Their voices complement each other well, especially in the softer songs such as “The Moonglow Tapeworm” and “I Have Heard Words” (which is off their second album Live from Space). Their third album was released just this year called Real Midnight–an album that continues to highlight the band’s harmonious singer-songwriting, but with this album there’s a much richer gospel element that’s introduced. The lyrics are also heavier–about life and goodbyes, the past and present.
The song “Barley” begins with Allison Russell singing alone (with a similar sound like Rhiannon Giddens of Carolina Chocolate Drops), and is then supported by a background of soulful claps that intensifies the dramatic lyrics of the song which are sung three times each throughout. “The wind that shakes the barley will not shake me… The fire that takes the kindling will not take me… The rain that floods the valley will not drown me…” It’s a purposeful song, same with “Estrella Goodbye” while other tracks simmer down and stir a melancholy romance as heard on “Time and Times.”
Mercury Lounge
2/8
Doors at 6:30 p.m.
$10
ticketfly.com
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