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Horse Feathers

Songs We Love: Horse Feathers, 'Violently Wild'

Horse Feathers. John Clark/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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John Clark/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Songs We Love: Horse Feathers, 'Violently Wild'

Where the strings in past Horse Feathers songs provided chamber-folk shading, here they're employed with energy, even aggression, without sacrificing the bracing beauty for which the band is known.

01Violently Wild

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Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

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JR Ancheta/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

The string-laden indie-folk band Horse Feathers makes its second appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

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Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

Portland quartet Horse Feathers perform on Mountain Stage. Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage hide caption

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Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

The Portland folk quartet recreates the arrangements from its acclaimed album Thistled Spring in the band's first appearance on West Virginia's most famous stage.

Horse Feathers On Mountain Stage

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Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2010

Jonsi performs on stage during Day 3 of the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Woodfordia on August 1, 2010, in Woodford, Australia. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2010

This isn't a list of 2010's "best" albums; that designation has more to do with consensus anyway. Instead, NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson picks 10 records that roll around in relatable emotions.

Horse Feathers: The Darker Side Of Rebirth

The most agreeably pretty song to float along in ages, Horse Feathers' "Thistled Spring" still finds a way to chill the blood. Tarina Westlund hide caption

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Tarina Westlund

Review

Song Of The Day

Horse Feathers: The Darker Side Of Rebirth

Horse Feathers' members understand with clarity how much richer "Thistled Spring" is for its darker shading; how even a season of renewal has its thorny and disagreeable side. The most agreeably pretty song to float along in ages, it still finds a way to chill the blood.

'Thistled Spring' by Horse Feathers

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Horse Feathers On World Cafe

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Tarina Westlund

World Cafe

Horse Feathers On World Cafe

XPN

A product of Portland, Oregon's thriving open-mic scene, Justin Ringle leads Horse Feathers, a folk-pop band that exudes quiet intensity in a session at WXPN. The strings and accordions on the band's third album, Thistled Spring, sound remarkably lush, while Ringle's stories remain chilling and poignant.

Horse Feathers On World Cafe

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Horse Feathers On 'World Cafe: Next'

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Tarina Westlund

Review

World Cafe

Horse Feathers On 'World Cafe: Next'

XPN

A product of Portland, Ore.'s thriving open-mic scene, Justin Ringle leads Horse Feathers, a folk-pop band that exudes quiet intensity. The strings and accordions on the band's third album, Thistled Spring, are a bit lusher, while Ringle's stories are just as poignant.

Horse Feathers On 'World Cafe: Next'

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Horse Feathers: Tiny Desk Concert
Michael Kleinfeld for NPR

Tiny Desk

Horse Feathers: Tiny Desk Concert

Sweet-voiced, bearded acoustic guitarists are not a rare commodity in the Pacific Northwest, which has spawned the likes of Fleet Foxes, Blind Pilot and countless others, just in the last few years. Horse Feathers' Justin Ringle may be the gentlest beard-wearer of them all, which made him a perfect candidate to appear in NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts series: With a voice that high and soft, the man needs a quiet room.

Audio Only: Horse Feathers' Tiny Desk Concert

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Review

Song Of The Day

Horse Feathers: Enigmatic And Artfully Slurred

Horse Feathers' songs may have words, but in many ways, the band might as well play instrumentals. Its songs offer up rustic, vaguely doomstruck atmosphere more than they convey discrete hooks and distinct messages. With its gorgeous strings, "Curs in the Weeds" soothes even as it unsettles.

Curs in the Weeds

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