Rhode Island Public Radio, April 30 2015 • John Bender
With its distinct, pulsing rhythm, a full drum set and electric bass, Axis Mundi, the new album from Brown Bird represents a departure of sorts. The sound is a retreat from the slower, more pared down music of the duo’s previous albums.
But the gypsy influences and the intertwining voices of husband and wife David Lamb and MorganEve Swain are the same genre-defying sounds that brought the band to prominence just a few years ago.
The New York Times, April 29 2015 • Jeff Oloizia
In the summer of 2008, MorganEve Swain, a pixie-ish, free-spirited fiddler and singer met David Lamb, a bearded, deeply feeling singer-songwriter, while touring on the East Coast. Just days later, Lamb asked Swain to join his eclectic folk ensemble Brown Bird. The pair fell in love, and over the course of six years — as Brown Bird whittled its lineup down to a duo — they would release four full-length albums, building a faithful following near their home in Warren, Rhode Island. Swaim and Lamb were married in August 2013. On April 5, 2014, Lamb died due to complications from leukemia.
Portland Phoenix, April 29 2015 • Jakob Battick
“And if this flesh should fade, devour me from within, pray then my soul prevail, free to roam again.” It’s not easy to process these lyrics within the context of a new Brown Bird record, especially when you’ve just pushed play. After founding member David Lamb’s passing in April of last year, Axis Mundi, the duo’s latest and last album, feels even more devastating than you’d expect. The group, formed in 2003 as a solo project of Lamb’s, came with time to become one of Maine’s most cherished musical treasures. From their early days on Portland’s own Peapod Recordings through their time as an internationally acclaimed touring folk act, Lamb could always be trusted to write songs as intense as they were beautiful, and as razor-sharp in vision as they were humble and soulful. It’s a stupefying tragedy that he should have been taken away from the world so soon, but Axis Mundi stands as the most perfect possible parting note Lamb could have left.
The Boston Globe, April 25 2015 • James Reed
The story of Brown Bird is a love story, and it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. They are, or were, a band, but Dave Lamb and MorganEveSwain were partners in every sense. Their six-year romance on and offstage caught fire and burned bright when they met in 2008. They moved in together within weeks.
As we reach the end of the first year without Dave, it’s with a swollen heart that I announce the release of our album Axis Mundi. Although the overwhelming feeling that he should be here and we should be hitting the road won’t leave my mind, I am at the same time overjoyed that our final effort will at last be entering the world.
