Horse Feathers Announce Words Are Dead 20th Anniversary Reissue & Tour

Back in 2006, Horse Feathers were making a lot of noise, metaphorically speaking. The Portland band released their debut album Words Are Dead right between the freak folk craze and the emergence of more polished indie-folk superstars like Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, and their music could be understood as a bridge between those phases. It's so intimate that Justin Ringle sometimes seems to be whispering and wailing directly to you from the same cozy piece of furniture, and the folk instrumentation manages to feel ancient and avant-garde all at once.

Words Are Dead has been out of print for years, but Kill Rock Stars is reissuing the album later this summer, and Horse Feathers are heading out on tour to promote it. The current lineup includes Ringle (guitar, vocals, banjo), Nathan Crockett (violin, saw), Halli Anderson of River Whyless (violin, vocals), Kati Claborn of Blind Pilot (banjo, vocals, clarinet), and Luke Ydstie of Blind Pilot (bass, cello, vocals). If it sounds anything like the track they released today, these shows are going to be fantastic.

In addition to the original Words Are Dead, the reissue will include a replica of Horse Feathers' original six-song demo CD, previously available only at live shows back then. We get a taste of that disc today with the demo for "Finch On Saturday," which sounds like a field recording in the best way. Some words from Ringle:

"Finch on Saturday" perfectly embodied the spirit of the early days of Horse Feathers. An impossibly earnest and economically arranged acoustic number conceived during the middle of a Portland summer. Bush was president and bombastic indie rock ruled the day. Contextually I think we felt vaguely punk playing gentle music teasing political themes at the time. “Indie Folk” wasn’t a genre we had heard of yet.

Hear the demo below, where you might as well check out the whole album.

TOUR DATES:
08/06 - Portland, OR @ Topaz Farm
08/20 - Spokane, WA @ The District Bar
08/22 - Olympia, WA @ Wild Child
08/23 - Seattle, WA @ The Tractor
08/27 - Trout Lake, WA @ Trout Lake Hall
08/28 - Astoria, OR @ Liberty Theater
08/29 - Eugene, OR @ Eugene Art House
08/30 - Bend, OR @ Silver Moon Brewing
09/11 - Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle Music Hall
09/12 - Durham, NC @ Stanczyk's
09/15 - Roanoke, VA @ The Spot on Kirk
09/16 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
09/17 - Vienna, VA @ Jammin' Java
09/18 - New York, NY @ Village Presents
09/20 - Boston, MA @ Club Passim
09/23 - Arlington Heights, IL @ Hey Nonny
09/24 - Lake Orion, MI @ 20 Front Street
09/25 - Columbus, OH @ Natalie's Grandview
09/26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe

The Words Are Dead reissue is out 8/28 on Kill Rock Stars. Pre-order it here.