Newport Folk Festival, April 5 2014
Esquire Live Sessions: Brown Bird Premiere “Weathering”
Esquire, December 2013
“Equal parts American folk, blues, country, and gypsy” David Lamb’s melodious voice combined with MorganEve Swain’s whiny cello, a guitar, and banjo all create an auditory treat. Swain’s presence on the upright bass is also heard over Lamb’s storytelling vocals—making every note hang above a room and fill the much-needed silence with toe tapping and hand clapping movements. This multitasking duo has their thumb on sounds created years ago, but they continue to put their own stamp on familiar genres. Their take on folk depicts a much darker harmony than the average, as their blues and country inflections remain rhythmic.
Leukemia grounds Brown Bird
The Boston Globe, June 1 2013 • Hilary Hughes
It was when playing his own songs became an insurmountable feat that Dave Lamb knew something was very wrong. Lamb and MorganEve Swain — who together make up Rhode Islander folk duo Brown Bird — had been touring nationally in support of their latest record, “Fits of Reason,” since its release on April 2. From the onset, Lamb felt off — the extreme exhaustion typical of the road wasn’t foreign to him, but this was different — and Brown Bird’s raucous repertoire suddenly went from providing passionate performances to impassable challenges for him. By Houston, Lamb had reached a point of fatigue that forced them to cut the set short and rush to the emergency room, and it was there that his hemoglobin count became the first of many life-changing numbers that would eventually add up to a leukemia diagnosis.
MorganEve Swain Discusses Dave Lamb’s Illness
Paste Magazine, May 22 2013 • James Joiner
The first thing I notice when I walk into the kitchen is that MorganEve Swain looks smaller than usual. Granted, I’ve usually encountered her at shows, looking up at her on stage behind her bass or cello, but even the few times we’ve interacted prior to this meeting she’s seemed, for lack of a better word, sturdier. She looks smaller and tired and, above all, scared. With good reason.
Just a few days ago she and fiancé/Brown Bird bandmate Dave Lamb were on a headlining national tour in support of their new album, when Lamb was stricken once more by a long, on-again/off-again illness, cutting their Houston show short and sending him to the hospital.
Brown Bird “Threads of Measure”
Folk Alley Sessions, April 9 2013
brown bird is not a folk band
Providence Phoenix, April 8 2013 • Chris Conti
Brown Bird’s David Lamb and MorganEve Swain challenge themselves (and anyone who still insists on calling them a folk band) on their stunning new album, Fits of Reason (via local label Supply & Demand). The devil still dances all over Lamb’s lyrics, though this time around he’s mingling with modern-day Western thinkers and 18th-century authors whose views and writings have clearly inspired his intellectual wordplay. The foot-stomping/clip-clopping structures and Swain’s cello and fiddle remain steeped in American roots, bluegrass, and jazz, and the duo’s penchant for incorporating Middle Eastern and European rhythms is fully intact. But it’s the addition of electric guitar and bass that lends yet another layer to Brown Bird’s distinctive sound.
Brown Bird ‘Fits of Reason’ release
Portsmouth Herald, April 4 2013 • Christopher Hislop
Brown Bird is one of those bands that you really like a lot, but have a hard time pinning down what it is you like best about ’em. Maybe that’s because they pull from so many different influences. It’s always an exciting time when they release a new record — which will be the case when they hit the Press Room on Saturday, April 6. The new record, “Fits of Reason,” is another stunningly beautiful collection of stories told with an accompaniment of lush soundscapes and rich harmonies. The soundscapes are generally very sparse in arrangement, but fleshed out in a way that makes each and every moment sound absolutely huge. A very world/tribal vibe exists in this latest record.
Brown Bird Refuses to be Pigeonholed
Paste Magazine, April 2 2013 • James Joiner
It’s not every day that a band comes along truly defying classification. Oh sure, the media will often anoint someone “genre-bending” to get your attention, but Providence, Rhode Island duo Brown Bird are the real deal. Rootsy folk? Check. Stomp-along Russian gypsy jam? Yup. Hints of acoustic heavy metal? Absolutely. Middle Eastern scimitar-twirling, snake-charming salsa? Sure, I just made that up, but if you listen closely I swear it’s in there. Their new album, Fits of Reason, is all of that and more.
Now a duo, Brown Bird takes flight
The Boston Globe, October 18 2011 • James Reed
PAWTUCKET, R.I. David Lamb’s tattooed hands tell a story. Fists clenched and held together, they spell out in block letters a reminder that he once needed. Lamb got that ink at a trying time in his life, when he was restless and could use a moral compass. You think about that tattoo and its message a lot when you listen to Brown Bird, the band Lamb started in 2003 as a solo project. Home could be anywhere. From its bluesy swagger to exuberant Eastern European string arrangements to visceral folk narratives, Brown Bird’s music is nomadic and yet rooted in things we all want: love, comfort, direction.
review: salt for salt
Performer Magazine, October 6 2011 • Elianna Masse
“Equal parts American folk, blues, country, and gypsy” David Lamb’s melodious voice combined with MorganEve Swain’s whiny cello, a guitar, and banjo all create an auditory treat. Swain’s presence on the upright bass is also heard over Lamb’s storytelling vocals—making every note hang above a room and fill the much-needed silence with toe tapping and hand clapping movements. This multitasking duo has their thumb on sounds created years ago, but they continue to put their own stamp on familiar genres. Their take on folk depicts a much darker harmony than the average, as their blues and country inflections remain rhythmic.
