Songs in the Key of Mountain Birds Blue

by Smoldering Ashes

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Songs in the Key of Mountain Birds Blue, the sophomore outing from Smoldering Ashes isn’t merely a follow up to last year’s well-received Nervous Constellations, it’s a departure down the scenic route with lots of turns and stops for Polaroids and coffee. You probably should fasten your seatbelt and keep your ears open.

Sparked by wanderlust both musically and lyrically, siphoning fuel from behemoths such as “Sandinista!”, “Tusk” and the Beatles “White” album, and with the anything goes ethos of Roy Wood’s “Boulders”, the band set out, with smiling faces, for parts unknown. “Afternoon Cartoon” is a pure quixotic pop song, big as all outdoors, while the epic suite “Le Locataire Diabolique” and the elegiac “Move the Clouds” are stirring testaments to human resilience and untapped power and universal mystery.

No stone is left unscathed on “Songs in the Key…” (the title itself a tip of the hat to a Stevie Wonder masterpiece of sprawl) as the character of preserved Paleo men are examined, a fictional detective nearly dies in Europe, an unfortunate woman’s life is ended because of an incompetent sailing crew, a loner turns home into a hunting range, a woman with a past contemplates faking her own demise, and an embarrassed shopper finds it hard not to walk with the beat of the music playing overhead. Marx Brothers fans will especially enjoy the band’s raucous take on Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen’s “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”. Smoldering Ashes travel here, there and everywhere in a 38 minute marathon of songs all written in the same key: the key of mountain birds blue.

Includes unlimited streaming of Songs in the Key of Mountain Birds Blue via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

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$12 USD

1.	Home Safari Home 01:56	buy track
2.	Afternoon Cartoon 03:54	buy track
3.	Birds, No Cage 02:55	buy track
4.	Nick Charles Crosses the Alps 02:23	buy track
5.	Eye of the Phobia 03:00	buy track
6.	Give Yourself a Push 03:54	buy track
7.	9,000 Year Old Man 02:02	buy track
8.	Shake an Etch-a-Sketch 04:08	buy track
9.	Lydia the Tattooed Lady 03:00	buy track
10.	Vera 01:12	buy track
11.	Le Locataire Diabolique 06:03	buy track
12.	Move The Clouds 03:30	buy track

about

Songs in the Key of Mountain Birds Blue, the sophomore outing from Smoldering Ashes isn’t merely a follow up to last year’s well-received Nervous Constellations, it’s a departure down the scenic route with lots of turns and stops for Polaroids and coffee. You probably should fasten your seatbelt and keep your ears open.

Sparked by wanderlust both musically and lyrically, siphoning fuel from behemoths such as “Sandinista!”, “Tusk” and the Beatles “White” album, and with the anything goes ethos of Roy Wood’s “Boulders”, the band set out, with smiling faces, for parts unknown. “Afternoon Cartoon” is a pure quixotic pop song, big as all outdoors, while the epic suite “Le Locataire Diabolique” and the elegiac “Move the Clouds” are stirring testaments to human resilience and untapped power and universal mystery.

No stone is left unscathed on “Songs in the Key…” (the title itself a tip of the hat to a Stevie Wonder masterpiece of sprawl) as the character of preserved Paleo men are examined, a fictional detective nearly dies in Europe, an unfortunate woman’s life is ended because of an incompetent sailing crew, a loner turns home into a hunting range, a woman with a past contemplates faking her own demise, and an embarrassed shopper finds it hard not to walk with the beat of the music playing overhead. Marx Brothers fans will especially enjoy the band’s raucous take on Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen’s “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”. Smoldering Ashes travel here, there and everywhere in a 38 minute marathon of songs all written in the same key: the key of mountain birds blue.

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released November 17, 2009

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Smoldering Ashes San Diego, California

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