Eagleowl

As one door opens, another closes, as Eagleowl launch their gift-wrapped ‘Sleep the Winter’ 7” single at the penultimate show at the Bowery before the venue’s sad and frankly unnecessary closure (well done, Edinburgh University Settlement, for thinking it can run the space better than those responsible for bringing the Bowery into the building, but who now find themselves homeless).

Beyond the occasion’s double-edged sword, Eagleowl’s mix of lo-fi electric slow-core, murmured male/female Americana harmonies and double bass, fiddle and harmonium textures are a deliciously swoonsome confection, sounding closest in spirit to the whispered melancholy of Galaxie 500 or the Mojave 3.

Guests from the support acts join in for what looks like a Bowery All-Stars session, as Withered Hand’s Dan Willson sings lead vocals on a number, followed by Jill from Sparrow and the Workshop. To close, the band move through the crowd like a tribe of promenading troubadours to play Low’s ‘Just Like Christmas.’ Which is exactly what it feels like. despite the EUS Scrooges.

The Bowery, Edinburgh, Fri Dec 11