By Amre Klimchak

Two of the finest independent bands to burst onto the scene in the past year, Bowerbirds and Bon Iver, embrace a common rustic aesthetic. Their dreamy, folk-inspired reflections seem sprung from a  time far from the relentless pace of modern civilization.  Both have spent time living in remote, fairly isolated cabins—Bowerbirds in the woods of North Carolina and Bon Iver in chilly Northwestern Wisconsin—and the measured calmness of their musings is informed by their natural surroundings. Their debut full-length records, released this year on sister labels (Bowerbirds’ Hymns for a Dark Horse on Dead Oceans and Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago on Jagjaguwar, which both operate under the same roof as Secretly Canadian), reveal an uncommon sophistication of vision. In a perfect pairing, the two groups share bills in the Northeast and Canada, spreading their unspoiled beauty to all who will listen. With so many things in common, though, the bands can’t help but invite some comparisons—and, as it turns out, there are plenty of areas where the groups diverge.


Lead Singers

Bower Birds
Phil Moore’s honeyed, lilting delivery makes him a charming troubadour, his voice harmonizing with girlfriend Beth Tacular’s voice and sometimes Mark Paulson’s; the three meld into a gorgeous concordance.

Bon Iver
Bon Iver is the project of Justin Vernon, whose high falsetto can rise quickly from a hushed tone to a fever pitch, transporting the listener across vast emotional highs and lows.


Names

Bower Birds
Though bowerbirds—named such because the males build an arched chamber of twigs to attract mates—are found primarily in Australia, the avian name reflects Moore’s move to a rural part of the Carolinas for a job tracking birds.

Bon Iver
A purposely misspelled version of the French phrase for "good winter," Bon Iver’s moniker invokes the snowy season in which Vernon started his project.


Albums

Bower Birds
Hymns for a Dark Horse sounds every bit a record guided by a beautiful couple whose unbridled romanticism drives them to create joyful noise together.

Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago, largely crafted over a three-month period of solitude, channels Vernon’s intensity and virtuosity into a stunning chronicle of love, pain and loss.


Best Lyrics

Bower Birds
“When I wake, I wake by the brook/ To an untamed thunder/ And the northern flicker flash about/ as the soup in the sky grows thicker/ But I tip my cap and curtsy/ and I take no offense/ Because there is no hate in your darkest cloud/ no ill intent.”
—from “Human Hands

Bon Iver
“Someday my pain, someday my pain/ will mark you/Harness your blame, harness your blame/ And walk through/With the wild wolves all around you/In the morning, I’ll call you”
—from “The Wolves (Act I and II)”


Live Show

Bower Birds
The trio takes on a foot-stomping old-timey quality in a live setting, Moore’s deft guitar mingling with
Tacular’s inspired accordion and Autoharp and the seemingly effortless talents of violinist and percussionist Paulson.

Bon Iver
Vernon bangs on the acoustic guitar and wails with a voice so full of heartache and desolation that it’s almost impossible not to get swept up in his entrancing world.


July 29, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie St.), 212-533-2111; 8, $15. (Also July 30, Music Hall of Williamsburg)