At the end of October, in the week-long ether ahead of November 3 where everything non-election-related seemed to disappear, Bowerbirds quietly released its first EP in seven years. Azaleas, like Bowerbirds’ earlier albums, is gleaming, gloaming folk, but it also has a churning, tender insistence to it as Phil Moore (the band is now a solo project) sings out against capitalism, class divides, and a wrecked world. 

So, at least in that way, the album—though it feels, like much of Bowerbirds music, born out of the brambly wilderness—is related to the election and our weird political moment. 

It’s dark, but it’s also light. Take, for example, the sweet, goofy video, out today, for “Part Wild,” which features a cast of familiar Durham music-scene faces, including Will Hackney, Zach Hegg, Matt McElroy, Libby Rodenbough, and Yan Westerlund, who, wearing a Packers jersey and tube socks, perfectly mimes the music.

A Wes Anderson-gym-class video is an unexpected pairing for the existential lyrics—sort of like watching Midsommar cut as a feel-good romantic comedy—but somehow, it’s perfect. And very fun. Watch the full video below. 

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Sarah Edwards is culture editor of the INDY, covering cultural institutions and the arts in the Triangle. She joined the staff in 2019 and assumed her current role in 2020.