Stagbriar – Quasi​-​Hymns, Murder​-​Ballads, and Tales of How the Hero Died

Like the title suggests, Quasi-Hymns, Murder-Ballads, and Tales of How the Hero Died, the latest offering from Columbia’s Stagbriar has many songs with dark connotations. The group, led by siblings Alex and Emily McCollum and rounded out by drummer Brandon Edwards and a few studio performers, deals in a post-modern folk rock sound that calls to mind ‘80s alternative artists like X, R.E.M., or Stan Ridgway more so than the current crop of cookie-cutter bands conducting business as usual with indie folk. The brother-sister team-up works well in their hands and it seems like the two, both singing lead and playing guitars and banjos, come from a shared vision of melancholy songs delivered in a beautiful folk/ roots narrative…

…The whole record makes sense as a piece, but it goes way outside of preconceived notions of “folk”. It is just that expansive and we are lucky to have local musicians like Stagbriar creating art that is obviously deeply personal, yet accessible by a wide variety of listeners. It is pretty amazing to think that they have only been together for a year or so. Here’s hoping they stick with us for much longer.

Sean Knight, South Carolina Music Guide

Full article here.