Minneapolis-based We Are The Willows sent me an advanced copy of their new debut full-length A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague, and I have to admit I’m forming quite the non-sexual crush on frontman Peter Miller and his musical endeavors.
Miller came to MSP from Eau Claire for school, became a preschool teacher and plays in indie-rock group Red Fox Grey Fox.
And although you’ll recognize Miller’s signature countertenor vocals, absent are the pounding drums and power chords of his regular band. Light guitar plucks, keys and ambient sound recording (bus engines, children on the playground, cafes) softly complement Miller’s fragile and poignant melodies.
Maybe it’s that I’ve actually lived the lyrics in the first track (grandpa’s funeral in Iowa, drinking in the parking lot, driving back to Minneapolis), but I find it very moving.
We Are the Willows : “A Funeral Dressed as a Birthday” (mp3)
To help promote the new album, the group is offering a four-song digital-only EP entitled A Family. A Tree that has the above single plus three new tracks separate from the full-length release.
According to the label, “The three exclusive tracks included on A Family. A Tree. are all lyrically centered around the subject of family and help bridge We Are The Willows’ transition from bare-boned folk-pop to the layered thickness heard on A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like the Plague.” It’s a pay what you think it’s worth format…
Download A Family. A Tree. here
We Are The Willows new album, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague, comes out November 24 on Eau Claire, WI-based record label and management firm Amble Down (Bon Iver, The Daredevil Christopher Wright).
