The Feather Lungs started, initially, as a bedroom project for Laura England Wood, a Bangor-based singer-songwriter. Previously, she’d been in a Bangor-area band called The Sweet Terror, but when that band dissolved she found herself writing songs on her own, trying to find an outlet.
Fortunately, she stumbled across guitarist David Young and drummer Richard Fortin, a pair of Hallowell-based friends and musicians who had posted some demos of their work together online.
“I was writing solo stuff when I came across David and Richard’s music,” said Wood. “I was really impressed and generally prefer working in a band setting, so I wrote melodies and lyrics for one of their songs and was able to jump right in.”
They recruited Hallowell guitarist Caleb Orion and Portland bassist Nick Perry through friends of friends, and two years later, The Feather Lungs are poised to release their debut album, “Arrival,” due out this summer. Two tracks from the album, “Subtraction” and “Three Times,” are available on their Bandcamp Web page.
Young and Fortin have known each other since they were in elementary school in Hallowell.
“Richard and I have been playing music together since before we could really play music. We’ve been friends since kindergarten,” said Young. “We’ve never really done an official band together, but we’ve written music together for seventeen years.”
“It wasn’t until we met Laura that we felt good chemistry,” added Fortin.
The Feather Lungs have a dark, somewhat heavy sound reminiscent of the Smashing Pumpkins or Garbage, but with a bit of the bracing vocal edge of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Sleater-Kinney. The band has been holed up in their home studio in Hallowell, though they spend a lot of time criss-crossing the state on Interstate 95, between Bangor and Portland.
“I don’t mind driving for music I love,” said Wood. “I usually come up with lyrics on the way to and from practice so it actually works out really well.”
Though the full-length album won’t be out until the summer, the Feather Lungs are playing a few shows in the next couple of months to keep their chops up and spread the word. They’ll play this Saturday, April 5, at the Tavern in Bangor with Chamberlain, and on Saturday, May 3, with Forget, Forget at the Oak and the Ax in Biddeford. For information, visit their Facebook page.