Search - Alice Bierhorst :: Earthbound

"Earthbound" has been brewing for nearly a decade and includes many of Bierhorst's finest songs. Playing all the instruments herself and recorded to 4-track, this album is by far her most lyrical and exposed, along the lines of Springsteen's "Nebraska" or early Mary Lou Lord and Cat Power. The bluesy "Spring" opens the album on a dark note, recreating the moment love breaks down. Title track "Earthbound" spins a haunting paean to a lonely small town, much like where the artist grew up too far away to matter much to anyone and filled with longing. "At Sunset" takes the listener on a harrowing drive through dark, dusty ghost towns, looking for a light. In "The Circle", love is simply an endless chain that can never be broken or lived without. "Flood Song" describes the destruction and freedom of stormy weather. African rhythms clatter and shake, moving into "Sickle-Backed Mare", a spare country blues ode to a fallen angel. Continuing the reverent mood, "Dancing" is a dreamy yet urgent reminder of mortality, propelled by an undulating groove. "Naked Eye" is a madrigal-like ballad lamenting the neglect of beauty in this world. World-weary in "Law of Averages", a Bowie-esque rock ballad that dreams of a better world, the album ends on a high note with the life-affirming pop of "Hallelujah".