"I liked to travel at night / to get a better look around / I would stretch out my wings, / and I’d speak through the dark, murky clouds / were you listening?"
Like a languid circular lullaby, "Chorus Of Birds", by The Petals, a three piece indie rock band from Pittsburgh, PA and from their new 2023 album "Indigo Armor", turns on Aaron Sheedy's intimate lyrics and airy beautiful melodies burning off orchestral folk imaginings. There is the sense that for 4 minutes and 4 seconds time stands still or at lease is in repose.
As Sheedy sings:
You called out to me like a chorus of birds,
led me back to the end of the street, at the start of the world,stood a tall, empty house with no memory.
Do you remember me?
Remember me?
Do you remember me at all?
...there are (maybe) imaginings of past lives, of creatures made of sinewy time walking out of dark places. I love the kind of poetry that doesn't make sense in a direct way, that stands on the edges of things and peers in and let's the veiled words work it's magic on anyone listening. For some it might feel eerie, for others only beautiful and for others a collision of both, something else.
Beautiful either way.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/49WaVleaE6Oe6mY5r2DRnA
https://www.instagram.com/thepetals/
https://www.thepetalsband.com/
The Petals are a three-piece, indie-rock band from Pittsburgh, PA. Steeped in the elements and focus of a singer-songwriter, the lyric-forward compositions are defined by dynamic, pop-inspired song-structures and atmospheric soundscapes backed by the foundation of a traditional indie-rock band.
By exploring unique recording styles and embracing DIY production philosophies, The Petals exist autonomously outside of the standard studio recording timeline, choosing to give priority to experimentation and the development of sonic technique. With the intention of creating songs that bend and pull the ear with melody and instrumentation, arrangements are written to invite the listener to an intimate audible experience.
Formerly a pseudonym Sheedy used to release early material, The Petals released their debut album, Lovely Monday, in 2015 and sophomore album, Meld, in 2017. Both of which were self-recorded and featured the addition of multiple musicians. In 2019 and presented with the opportunity to work with producer/engineer Sid Riggs, they released their third studio album, Seven Stops, a departure from some of their more isolated, earlier works. In late December of 2022, The Petals announced Indigo Armor, an expansive vision of ambient textures and a range of hushed moods. The upcoming fourth album marks a return to self-recording and is set to be released in the spring of 2023. Simultaneously, they continue to work at their personal studio with a lineup of anticipated releases.
The Petals lineup of Aaron Sheedy (guitar, vocals), Daniel Grushecky (bass, vocals) and Colin Humphrey (drums) have been creating and performing together since 2017. In their latest project, Indigo Armor, the traditional three-piece is more subdued than previous recordings, opting for more tempered tones and whispery vocals as synths and orchestral strings lend themselves to the story told through complex patterns. These additional layers also include backing vocals from Grushecky, a myriad of percussive instruments and repurposed sounds that take the form of additional instrumentation throughout the record. Guitars balance subtle, oblique finger-picked tones with the rhythm section, cradling the lyrical story of the album.
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