The Cave Singers
The Bartlett
12/31/2016 09:00 PM PST
$20.00
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The Cave Singers

Seattle's The Cave Singers perform dramatic, forlorn and occasionally triumphant music in a wonderfully autumnal haze. Given the rising popularity of meditative, folky indie acts in the early 2000s, forming a twangy, rootsy folk trio was probably the least surprising move Derek Fudesco could have made. The former bassist and founding member of the successful indie rock group Pretty Girls Make Graves picked up an acoustic guitar and formed the Cave Singers following PGMG's demise in January 2007, teaming up with vocalist Pete Quirk (formerly of Hint Hint) and drummer Marty Lund (formerly of Cobra High). Though not an "official" member, ex-PGMGer Andrea Zollo made an appearance on the group's first album as a vocalist and washboard player. Drawing from canonical folkies like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, and sounding more than a little like other early-2000s acts like Lightning Dust, the Snake the Cross the Crown, and Samamidon, the group had its first album, Invitation Songs, recorded and ready to go (thanks in large part to Black Mountain producer Colin Stewart) within months of PGMG's breakup. Matador picked up the trio soon after, and following a few delays Invitation Songs was slated for release in late September. The band continued on a similar path for 2008's Welcome Joy, but worked with producer Randall Dunn — who also made albums with Sunn 0))) and Boris — on 2011's eclectic No Witch. Following that record the band was joined by former Blood Brothers bassist Morgan Henderson, who was also doing time as bassist in Fleet Foxes. The expanded group spent 2012 working on their summery fourth album Naomi, which was released on Jagjaguar in early 2013. Naomi: There's no tomorrow / Set a place at the table If every story is a story about love, what of suffering, surrender, and redemption? Life says they're in there too. Along with traffic jams and dishes, jobs and sunsets and spilling all the red wine on the floor. All of it. Naomi, the fourth record from Northwestern mystics The Cave Singers, is a totem to these things: the every-, any-, all- ways of life. Written over the span of ten months and recorded in one, it bears a new and more expansive production style that captures the live performance energy the band has developed over the past five years. The disc was engineered and produced at Avast Studios in Seattle by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Built To Spill, Shins, Modest Mouse). Each song on the album functions like a chapter in a bigger story, addressing themes of the past, exhuming the memories under moonlight. There are songs of addiction, car ownership, fireworks, tree houses, moving to New Mexico, and God, each shifting in all the ways that make life difficult and miraculous, astounding and beautiful. Get quiet for awhile / Happy for each single breath The core trio of singer Pete Quirk, guitarist Derek Fudesco & drummer Marty Lund have added long time friend Morgan Henderson (Blood Brothers, Fleet Foxes) on bass and extra instrumentation to round out The Cave Singers family. Together they have charted new territory for the band both musically and spiritually, while remaining true to their distinctive brand of brushfired folk. After some time in the dark wealth of the unknown, they have returned to the light with a revitalized purpose. Making music as a cure. Music as a home you always have. I'm done with sorrow / Don't need to follow But who or what is Naomi? Naomi is the farthest star just within sight. The tiniest shell, that though broken, remains whole. A fictional muse, who sleeps it off on your couch with her shoes still on. A holy waitress of the cosmos. A miracle, a change, a rekindled sinner who paints all his neighbor's homes for free. A breath, a beat of the heart. A love. Sit here at the window / Watch it all move through rain

Venue Information
The Bartlett
228 W Sprague Ave
Spokane, WA 99201
http://thebartlettspokane.com/