RUBY HOWL

Ruby Howl, sparrows in a concrete world, occupied in dreamy persuasions and eerie nooks, started out as a collaboration between Laurie Hall and Patrick Kadyk, husband and wife, poets and sirens, and key members of various San Francisco bands spanning 20 years.  In 2010 they added Laurie's sister Jennifer Hall as drummer, vocalist, and additional songwriter to the band.  The trio then had the good fortune of enlisting producer Eric Drew Feldman to support the  project of their upcoming release 'Heaven Hides There Too'. He also plays bass and will be touring with the band in the spring of 2011.

The new album comes on the heels of the 2009 debut 'The Wind and the Tiger', and continues to blur the lines between electric and acoustic, indie rock and moody folk.  They followed that release with a tour of Europe the same year.

praise for "The Wind and the Tiger":

"Ruby Howl blend asian, middle-eastern, european and latin flares with traditional folk and americana to create something completely their own that has hints of darkness and despair that I will dub "banjo noir". 'The Wind and the Tiger' seems fit for an independent film or a dark alley bar with red velvet curtains and smoke curling around an audience moving in slow motion. Their banjo noir is far too dark and haunting for your car stereo but would be great paired with rich visuals."
Lisa Town, adequacy.net

Laurie Hall began writing, performing, and recording original music in 1990, when she and Jennifer Hall along with Buck Bito formed the indie rock trio Ovarian Trolley, who released 3 well received albums and multiple singles. Over 8 years they toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe. Their music was also featured in several films. She is also part of the acoustic quartet, The Hallflowers, singing along side Jennifer and their mother Phyllis. They have 2 albums and perform regularly.  In 1999 she partnered with Eric Drew Feldman to create the internationally recognized band Knife and Fork, who followed the production of their album "Miserycord" in 2004 with a multi-national tour supporting PJ Harvey, as well as opening for The Pixies at the Berkeley Greek Theater.

Pat Kadyk formed the gypsyish-folk outfit Hazy Loper in 2000.  They released 3 acclaimed albums, toured Europe twice, and were the subject of the documentary film, "Sketches of Hazy Loper" by Davide Vanni.  During this time he also paired with fellow out of rounder Ryder Cooley to form the gothic-folk duet, The Darklings and released one album and toured in the states.

Jennifer Hall began performing and recording alongside Laurie back in 1990 as drummer, vocalist, and songwriter for Ovarian Trolley.  She also teamed with Laurie and Eric for the Knife and Fork project as percussionist and vocals, and toured with them in 2004.  She also sings and writes songs for the Hallflowers.

Eric Drew Feldman's storied music history started as bass and keyboardist with Captain Beefheart in the late seventies.  He then  went on to play and tour with such illustrious acts as Snakefinger, Pere Ubu, The Pixies, The Residents, PJ Harvey, Frank Black, among others. In 1999 he started collaborating with Laurie and created Knife and Fork.  He's also produced many award winning albums and songs over the years including, Polyphonic Spree, various Frank Black albums, PJ Harvey, Sparklehorse, dEUS, and the list goes on.

Terrascope Rumbles:
Ruby Howl make sinister music on their second album "Heaven Hides There Too."
Guitars chime and slash in forbidding tone with noirish vocals. half-Americana, half-psychedelic.
Original and unusual, an intriguing listen.

http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Reviews/Rumbles_August_11.htm

Know Deposit Know Return:
a little bit of the spirit of eastern european nomads but more in the melancholy indie rock vein. subtle harmonies and an unhurried vibe bring new subtleties with each listen.
when the two hall sisters sing together the result is quite beautiful. and when kadyk lends his voice to the songs i'm reminded of the gypsy inflected hazy loper especially on the haunting 'forest of eyes'

http://moremusic.typepad.com/blog/

Leicester Bangs:
In follow up to 2009’s debut, “The Wind and the Tiger”, “Heaven Hides There Too” continues to straddle the worlds of Appalachian Folk and Indie, and embellish their work with a good old dollop of gothic moodiness.

Rootstime:
fragile, dreamy dark and alternative folk songs with alternating acoustic and electric guitars and dreamy singing. This first song evokes the work of the Canadian group Cowboy Junkies' and the ethereal sound of a group like "Mazzy Star", something that seems to be found in the later songs "Goliath" and " Fare Thee Well ".
The nice thing about Ruby Howl "is the fact that each singer makes their own compositions, which is then fleshed out by the full band. "Heaven Hides There Too" is a most enjoyable piece of music.

http://www.rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEUW/2011/JULI1/CD22.html

Americana UK:
Their sound is murky with deep bass drums, rumbling guitar and various keyboard sounds that occasionally sound like a brass section. The voices are portentous, laced with menace in a Gothic fairy tale way to the extent that eventually the album moves away from psychedelia to prog folk.