The North Carolina/Illinois-born ensemble Dowsers brings together musicians drawn from some of the most respected outfits that populate the experimental folk‑rock underground. The lineup includes Courtney Werner and Evan Morgan (Magic Tuber Stringband, Weirs), Austin Cash (solo artist, Nathan Smearage), Oliver Child-Lanning (Weirs, Sluice, Fust), James Gibian (Beak Trio), and Alli Rogers (Alli Blois). As someone who has chronicled the scene with numerous enthusiastic blog posts, I was thrilled to learn about this group.
Their music proves equally engaging. Dowsers, who also curate a festival named FEAST, revealed today that they have signed with Gar Hole Records and issued two new tracks: “Dogwood,” a gently swaying roots-rock ballad, and “Three Forks Of Cheat,” a rustic post-rock instrumental rooted in an old Edden Hammons fiddle tune. Both tunes are well worth a listen, and Morgan offers some background context:
“Dogwood” came to me in the spring of 2020 at my friend Hunter’s grandparents’ house in Hayesville, NC, so its release has been a long time in the making. The dependable markers of the seasons—some familiar, some newly shifting as local ecosystems respond to climate change—are something we all become more aware of as we age. The Dogwood tree outside that Hayesville house became the focal point for my meditation on aging and the reappearance of natural cycles.
“Three Forks of Cheat” has long stood out as one of my favorite fiddle tunes. Its source fiddler is Edden Hammons of Webster County, WV. I learned it while playing with Will Csorba, who shared his fascination with Hammons family tunes. I imagine the three unequal, “crooked” lines of the B part as representing the three forks of the Cheat River. With Dowsers, I aimed to amplify the tune’s atmospheric qualities, culminating in a cacophonous sludge section inspired by the renowned Athens band Harvey Milk.
Listen below.
