The Officially Untitled

tuneage:

The Wooden Birds - “Seven Seventeen”

I can tell that Summer is starting to give way to Fall when I start putting down my more upbeat fare in favor of mellow, folky, autumnal-tinged tunes. The Wooden Birds, an Austin, TX-based side project of American Analog Set’s Andrew Kenny, came to me by way of a friend (thanks, Kevin!) who managed to catch them in concert. The style reminds me a bit of earlier Iron & Wine: softer vocals, acoustic guitars, simple arrangements, and solid songwriting.

This song, the subject matter of which can seem odd at first (it’s actually about the effect major age differences have on love), is perhaps my favorite on Wooden Birds’ debut album Magnolia. The song uses male and female vocals to show two sides of this love story while creating some excellent vocal harmonies, and we all know I’m a sucker for good harmonies.