Mike Antone and Camelia Jade are mainstays of a Snoqualmie Valley folk scene loosely centered around the Black Dog Cafe. They’ve been writing and playing together for a long time, the last several years among other longtime collaborators in a 5-piece called Strong Sun Moon.
The recording of “Lovebird” feels like it was made live; it’s intimate, anchored by Antone’s acoustic guitar and tenor vocal and percussionist Samantha Hiatt’s haunting harmonies. Hand percussion and harmonica drive dynamics and respond between verses. The lyrics seem to find a connection between bird flight and human love, though the references to owls, eagles, ravens are presented with a mysticism – sacred, dreams, magic – that brings to mind a certain other Snoqualmie Valley-affiliated work of art that’s recently reentered the popular consciousness. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.