Bowerbirds - becalmyounglovers (CD)

becalmyounglovers is as much a return as it is a farewell. Phil Moore’s first Bowerbirds album since 2012 is an artifact of transition, a domino effect of doors closing and Moore stumbling headfirst into the uncertainty of what comes after a life fundamentally changes. Like a polaroid slowly swimming into focus, becalmyounglovers reconciles the memories of yourself in relation to another person, and then what’s unearthed when you’re left to face your identity alone – and which one of those selves is true?

Written and recorded mainly in an isolated cabin hand built by Moore and his ex-partner, out in Siler City, North Carolina, becalmyounglovers chronicles a long-term relationship’s death rattle, inevitable breakup, and its immediate aftermath – and Moore’s getting to understand himself better in the process. These songs don’t trudge through upheaval — instead, they float, still sanguine and light in the face of plans gone awry.

But, true to Moore’s songwriting, the heaviness of the subject matter still glimmers with an innate hopefulness. becalmyounglovers is like wading deep into the psyche of a potential identity crisis, but there’s no darkness here – instead, Bowerbirds plumbs the depths with the windows open, a breeze flowing in, a smattering of sunlight across the floor and the sounds of outside filtering in, the promise of a new morning right around the corner.