Photo: Claire Schaper

Penny & Sparrow collaborate with Joseph on rollicking rambler “Dogs of War” [BPM Premiere]

Indie-folk duo Penny & Sparrow are set to release their new album, Lefty, tomorrow via I Love You / Thirty Tigers. The Austin duo of Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke have long sought out the delicate commonalities between various strands of Americana, folk, and pop music, specializing in an acoustic-tinged world of rural quirks and heartstring-twanging expressions of joy and heartache amid innumerable moments of personal revelation.

Their influences share an adoration for affective storytelling, with echoes of Bon Iver, Father John Misty, and Simon & Garfunkel ringing clearly through the band’s music. Lefty finds them exploring a considerable amalgam of indie-folk, chamber pop, and blues-adjacent aesthetics, with Baxter and Jahnke occasionally veering into more experimental territory in their pursuit of honest sentiment and connectivity.

Lefty is a long collection of both real and made up things,” explains the band. “We wrote poetry, true stories, literary fan fiction, horror, erotica, slice-of-life vignettes, dream scenarios, saloon conversations, elegies, a toast, a few confessions and at least two love letters. All of them belong together because each one is an extension of us, of the things we love. We are the ties that bind Lefty.

On their latest single, “Dogs of War”, they’re joined by Portland, Oregon trio Joseph — which itself is built around the entwined creativities of sisters Natalie Closner, Allison Closner, and Meegan Closner — as they further refine the ambling folk environments which are so intrinsically entangled in their core methodology. The harmonies here rise several miles above the earth, with the Closner siblings adding their unique vocal support. Spectral acoustic guitars merge with subtle shades of shivering electronics as the band try to grasp a better understanding of forces outside their control. The song is a like a blanket of stars clinging to the sky through an early morning fog, gauzy and enveloping but possessing a resilience unknown even to itself.

The band says: “This is our song ‘Dogs of War’ featuring our good friends, the band Joseph. We wanted to capture the nervy feeling/energy of forming a new band with your pals and the buzz you get from group chemistry.

Listen below.

 

Lefty is due out tomorrow via I Love You / Thirty Tigers. You can pre-order the album here. Follow the band on Facebook, X, and Instagram.