Song Premiere: The Stray Birds, “Best Medicine”

by Kim Ruehl, for FolkAlley.com

The Stray Birds seemed to show up out of nowhere back in 2012, with a self-titled debut that stopped short the folk and Americana worlds. Driven by a contemporary grasp on traditional music that rivals that of giants like Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, the Stray Birds followed the debut up with ‘Echo Sessions,’ an EP of cover songs. But now, they’re back with another full-length album titled for one of its most infectious tracks. When Maya de Vitry howls out the first “well, well, well” of the chorus on “Best Medicine,” it’s part proclamation, part revelation. There to catch her are the supportive harmonies of guitarist Oliver Craven and bassist Charles Muench. Together, the three carry the song through to its stirringly poetic catharsis: “If the body is a temple, the soul is a bell / That’s why music is the best medicine I sell.”

Best Medicine will be released on October 21st on Yep Roc Records.