Lumens on Blue Gentian Records
Release date: Oct. 19, 2010
With their earlier recordingsBound, Heavens, and Vigil, heard on more than 50 stations across the country, New England-based chamber-pop ensemble Birdsong At Morning is proud to announce the release of their irresistibly catchy, radio-friendly fourth album entitled Lumens, on Blue Gentian Records.
Contrasting the darker mood of the band's previous release,Lumens lightens the tone and quickens the heartbeat. Opening track "Velvet Indigo," features a chorus that lifts the spirits like clouds parting after a rainstorm. "Can't Help Myself" pulses with new wave energy, filtered through a string quartet, culminating in a sing-along chorus. "Heartland" recalls the ethereal colors of Heavens and Vigil, in a moving tale of longing and stasis. "Never Make Me Cry" is a cover from Fleetwood Mac's oft-overlooked album Tusk, given the delicate Birdsong At Morning treatment. Middle Eastern and African drums, capped by Zeppelin-esque Arabic strings, propel the fourth track "Light," a prayer to our better natures. The album catches its breath with "Morning Glory," an ode to the power of the new day dawning.Lumens concludes with long-time set closer, "Catch Me," an upbeat and unapologetic embrace of the blatantly romantic.
The cover image is a detail from "Cupid's Pencil of Light" a photograph taken by Julia Margaret Cameron in 1871.