The new North Carolina/Illinois sextet Dowsers brings together members of some of the best bands in the experimental folk-rock underground. The personnel: Courtney Werner and Evan Morgan (Magic Tuber Stringband, Weirs), Austin Cash (solo artist, Nathan Smearage), Oliver Child-Lanning (Weirs, Sluice, Fust), James Gibian (Beak Trio), and Alli Rogers (Alli Blois). As a person who has blogged many an excited blog post about acts from that world, I was delighted to learn about this crew.
Hearing their music was delightful too. Dowsers, who also organize a music festival called FEAST, are announcing their signing to Gar Hole Records today with a pair of new tracks: "Dogwood," a slow-swaying roots-rock ballad, and "Three Forks Of Cheat," a rustic post-rock instrumental based on an old Edden Hammons fiddle tune. Both songs are well worth hearing, and you may enjoy this context from Morgan:
“Dogwood” is a song that I wrote in the spring of 2020 at my friend Hunter's grandparents' house in Hayesville, NC so it's release has been a long-time coming. The reliability of certain seasonal markers, some familiar and some new depending on local ecosystems shifting conditions due to climate change, is something I think we all become increasingly aware of as we grow older. The Dogwood tree that grew outside this house in Hayesville was the center here for my reflection on humans growing older but natural cycles reappearing.
“Three Forks of Cheat” has always been one of my favorite fiddle tunes. The source fiddler for this one is Edden Hammons of Webster County, WV. I learned it from playing with Will Csorba who shared his obsession with me for Hammons family tunes. I think of the three unequal, "crooked" lines of the B part as representing the three forks of the Cheat River. I wanted to try to draw out the atmospheric qualities of this strange tune with Dowsers, ending in a cacophonous sludge section inspired by the great Athens band Harvey Milk.
Listen below.