Buried Beds: A Sweetly Soaring Roar

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After a long absence, the Philly band Buried Beds returns on an auspicious note with "Steady Hand."

Courtesy of the artist

After a long absence, the Philly band Buried Beds returns on an auspicious note with "Steady Hand."

Buried Beds first surfaced seven or eight years ago with a few bits of self-released melancholia, including 2004's string-infused gem of an indie-pop EP, To Polo. A full-length called Empty Rooms followed a year later, but for those not living in the band's hometown of Philadelphia, Buried Beds seemed to drop off the planet entirely. It turns out that core members Eliza Hardy and Brandon Beaver were just working on other projects — Beaver is a founding member of the group Make a Rising, for example — and taking a whopping six years to release a new record.

So Tremble the Sails comes as a pleasant surprise — the sort of old acquaintance you're happy to see pop up on Facebook after a mysterious absence. Buried Beds' sound has naturally evolved in the intervening years, fleshed out and spiked with a bit of anthemic urgency: "Steady Hand" opens Tremble the Sails on an auspicious note, building majestically as its strings, guitars and boy-girl harmonies combine to form a sweetly soaring roar. It's a lovely surprise to be reminded of this under-exposed sleeper, and to revel in the end of its self-imposed silence.