DANA FALCONBERRY
Though I Didn’t Call, It Came
Crossbill

Dana Falconberry was born in Michigan, studied folklore at college in Arkansas, and moved to Austin in 2005. Since then, she’s released a series of luminous EPs marked by her strong sense of melody, lyrics that blend literary and everyday images, and her minimal vocal style. On her current outing, she’s gone for a fuller sound with a band, string quartet, lush backing vocals and inventive pop arrangements, although her melancholy muse seems intact. Toy piano, whistling, and gently strummed guitar make “Maple Leaf Red” sound like a sad children’s song. “Muskegon” is a short tone poem of stark beauty, and “Possum Song” ironically asks “how could I be lonely” with lush female harmonies and a tune that’s achingly desolate. “Petoskey Stone” shows off Falconberry’s uncanny ability to balance light and dark impulses. It’s musically upbeat, with playful percussion accents, brittle harp, clanging piano and a bright vocal, but the lyric is a wistful meditation on mortality. — j. poet