Woodpigeon

Woodpigeon are a Canadian indie folk group from Calgary, Alberta, active since 2006 and centred on Mark Andrew Hamilton. The project begins with Hamilton writing songs in Edinburgh, Scotland, under the name Woodpigeon Divided By Antelope Equals Squirrel, alongside Steve Kaye and Malcolm Benzie. At that stage, Hamilton says the group plays only a couple of instrumental pieces and gives its only performance in the streets of Edinburgh, before he returns to Canada and continues under the shorter name Woodpigeon.

The band’s sound is compared with Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Camera Obscura, Simon & Garfunkel and Belle & Sebastian, among others. Hamilton says his main lyrical influence is The Kinks, and he explains that he has long liked the word “Woodpigeon”, adding that it looks like a rollercoaster when written in cursive.

Members

Woodpigeon develops into an eight-member core line-up: Mark Hamilton on vocals and guitar, Kenna Burima on piano and vocals, Michael Gratton on bass, Annalea Sordi on accordion, flute and vocals, Daren Powell on drums, Peter Moersch on electric guitar and vocals, Foon Yap on violin, and AJ Benoit on vocals.

Releases and activity

The group releases its first full-length album, Songbook, in 2006. After that release, Woodpigeon opens for Broken Social Scene, Iron and Wine, Grizzly Bear, Calexico and The Dears. The band tours the UK, Ireland and Germany in 2008. Later that year it self-releases Treasury Library Canada in a hand-folded edition of 1,000 copies, which sells out within a few months, and the album receives an official release in 2009. The group also reissues Songbook in the UK. Its discography also includes the EPs Sketchbook, Pigeonbooth: Volume the First, Snow Shovel, ...A Given, Houndstooth, Chorus of Wolves and La Commission Scolaire, plus the release Pixie Children Crying. The singles listed are “Death by a Ninja (a Love Song)” and “That Was Good But You Can Do Better”.

A third album, Die Stadt Muzikanten, is also noted in the discography. The group is described as having released two studio albums and a number of EPs to critical acclaim.