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PRESS QUOTES: “Birdlips may be the best band you aren’t listening to.” - District of Sound (Q&A with Birdlips) “our favorite local record of the year” - C-VILLE News & Arts Weekly “Cardboard Wings reminds me in one moment of the music played in the back of a gyspy’s caravan and in the next it seems to slide out from an open window overlooking the busy intersection of the world. The occasional plucking of a banjo gives these songs a rustic feel, but then there’s a haunted modern flavor in the mix that is equal parts Nick Drake and Mazzy Star... There is some strange magic in this music and Birdlips now has me under its spell.” - Shaun Harvey, cvilleMUSE “...the romantic Cardboard Wings combines the outdoor, lyrical approach of Wordsworth with the terse intensity of Shelley. A traveler's confessional lament, the album jumbles flute, guitar, and piano into raw folk melodies; they've been plucked from various countries, but they still come out sounding predestined, like a perfect black-and-white film where nothing is out of place.” - Afton Woodward, NPR “The D.C. duo Birdlips creates a sunset-and-smog glow in its pretty, restrained acoustic tunes... There's a hint of spooky blues and a strong sense of melody in their take on folk, and it doesn't hurt that they emphasize rhythm as much as they do atmosphere” - The Onion "Birdlips, a musical duo comprising Mr.
Usher and keyboardist Lindsay Pitts, builds off of the acoustic-fueled
material that took root in Spain. The two mix organic instruments with
looped percussion, creating a folk-tinged sound that is simultaneously
intimate and expansive... Cardboard Wings, is an earthy and
atmospheric album, not unlike Emmylou Harris' acclaimed "Wrecking
Ball."...[it] swoons with vocal harmonies and melodic turns that belie
the musicians' youth. Such promising craft recently attracted attention
from National Public Radio, which made "Tire Chains" the network's Song
of the Day in late July." - Andrew Leahey,
The Washington Times “...the updated, sophisticated and polished version of everyone’s favorite lo-fi folk artists of the 60’s and 70’s. Were Nick Drake playing music today, he’d be touring with Birdlips. Usher’s voice is something like Jeff Buckley meets Andrew Bird – commanding and a little rough around the edges, with a strength and maturity that belies his 20-something years. Pitts’ creative work on the keys (and her too-rare singing) is the perfect complement; it is a soft fleecy layer that assures the overall warmth of the music.”- the Connection Newspapers “Cardboard Wings sounds like the product of
a precocious young man that trusted the tidal pull of his gut, severing
instruments from their past histories to patch together a motley orchestra that
resonates with him... And the landscape is all liminal—close to sleep or waking,
dawn or dusk, crossing borders and bodies, the type of grand events that make
countless writers feel small in scale but enormous in perspective...
Cardboard Wings is a remarkable first record.” Forty-five songs that every
Charlottesville music fan should know: "Birdlips still strikes me as an anomaly—dropped in our midst by Mazzy Star or Alex Chilton or the Velvet Underground, likely to take off again at any moment. Part of it is the plumage: Guitarist Cliff Usher is a red-headed George Harrison in corduroy and paisley; keyboardist Lindsay Pitts is nature’s update of the Twiggy or Zooey Deschanel model, with a taste for mod fashions and boots. But the two sing a song sweeter than any ’keet. They perch on the dark side of the delicate—that Alice in Chains unplugged album, modern psychedelia like Beach House and High Places (bands they turned me on to)—ruffle my feathers, then ascend." - Best of C-VILLE 2009 "Their musical mix shouldn’t work: 12-string acoustic guitar, a moog-sounding synthesizer, a tambourine and male-female harmonies beneath a ton of reverb. But they knocked me off my feet. The duo is Cliff Usher on guitar/vocals and Lindsay Pitts on keyboards/vocals. Their sound is a little spooky and withdrawn, a little psychedelic and a little folksy. Their set left me wanting more of their unique sound and I really wished that the Merge Records folks would have been in the crowd to sign them on the spot. I was more than happy that I shelled out a meager $10 for their lovely debut, Cardboard Wings. I can’t shout it loudly enough: These two are the real deal." - Michael Abernathy, The Homegrown Snob (North Carolina)
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