C/S020 TONGUE DEPRESSOR “BROAD IS THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO DEATH” C37

Tongue Depressor is the duo of Zach Rowden and Henry Birdsey - two quietly prolific artists working in New Haven, CT. Rowden, originally from Virginia, touts an impressive resume, with numerous solo releases, collaborations and heavy tour experience in the US and abroad. While Birdsey, originally from Vermont, boasts numerous solo and collaborative releases along with a deep history in recording, mastering and live sound. However, Tongue Depressor may be both artists most refined, deliberate and masterful project. As a duo these experimenters delve into long bouts of trance inducing microtonal drone, most typically on fiddles, but not exclusively, as on this release. They began experimenting with fiddles in 2016 and have since become a creative force, learning the instrument along side one another, giving them an innate locked in quality. Rowden is a life-long upright bass player, while Birdsey usually finds himself on guitar or lap steel. Broad Is The Road That Leads To Death sees Tongue Depressor experimenting with a wide range of instruments and musical know-how. Side A’s “Dronerdie” features electric bass and guitar rumbling and groaning through deep and troubled territories, while Side B’s title track has forays into upright bass, resonator and, an inevitable conclusion of dual fiddle drone transcendence. Vibrant, sustained tension delicately balances along discordant, iconoclastic visions of a vacant world. Limited edition of 125.