Horse Feathers brings chamber folk

(a portion of this piece was published by Planet JH Weekly)Not the 1932 Marx Brothers comedy film of the same name, but the prolific indie-folk ensemble Horse Feathers is coming to town, again. Delicate, chamber-folk instrumentation is matched with a hushed, sweet-yet-grim voice led by singer-songwriter Justin Ringle. On a whim, I saw Horse Feathers at SXSW in 2010 and it opened my mind to string-arranged, delicate folk.The Portland band’s fifth album, So It Is With Us, dropped last week and sounds immediately more upbeat and joyful than previous listening experiences. The album was recorded in a barn in rural Oregon, decidedly influenced by Pentangle, Talk Talk, Paul Simon, The Band, Van Morrison, John Wesley Harding-era Bob Dylan, Desire-era Bob Dylan, and Abner Jay. A conscious effort to make an album of feel good music wasn’t an easy process.“I wanted to stop. I did all the touring for my fourth record, Cynic's New Year, and ended the year 2012 disillusioned and defeated,” Ringle shared. “After an arduous period of self-doubt and discovery, I finally arrived at the enlightened idea that maybe it should just be a little more fun. I had grown weary of talking to people after shows who said that my last record ‘helped them through their divorce.’ I realized what I wanted to hear was how my last record helped them ‘have a great weekend.’ If you have heard any of my previous records you will realize that this transformation from ‘divorce’ band to ‘weekend band would be a tall order. And it was!” Horse Feathers, 10 p.m. Tuesday at Town Square Tavern. $10. 307Live, 733-3886.