Their third record, “For Distant Viewing” is finally finished, and the same exuberance it captures is palpable tonight, onstage in Atlanta. Five guys and one girl, home at last after many months on the road. You notice the front man first, strumming his scratched and battered acoustic guitar, grinning a little as he sings. Then the violinist, lone female, her eyes closed, so obviously in love. And the lead guitarist, watching his own fingers tap-dancing upon the fretboard of his eight-stringed instrument as if he’d just set them loose to see what they might do. The keyboard player strikes you as the quiet type, head bobbing as he waits, listens–but his contribution, when it comes, reveals wisdom, a phrase so well-chosen you’re instantly aching for the next. And finally, the rhythm section, bass and drums engaged in some kind of telepathic chess game they’ll both win so long as they continue interpreting and anticipating one another’s moves. A band in full command now of a sound that amalgamates jazz-like virtuosity, symphonic scope, and hook-laden folk into something focussed and distinctly original. A band that, after four years together, seems to have achieved that rare level of cohesion so as to make each member seem equally imperative to, and inseparable from, the music they create. As if, in fact, they are a family, bound not by blood so much as pure devotion. See them in Atlanta, their current home, or in Savannah, their old one, or anywhere else, for they have performed all over the country. See them awash in California sunlight, or shrouded in the mist of the Seattle Mountains. Hear their sounds filling the silences of the Texas desert, or rendering the big-city cacophony into more enjoyable forms of grandeur.”

-Alex McWalters