The Rabbit Room

Birds of Relocation: Pre-orders Open!

On March 27th, Eric Peters’ Birds of Relocation will finally be set loose in the world. I know it’s been a long road for Eric. A year ago I listened to first stirrings of the record as he sat quietly in the next room, writing the new songs, wrestling the lyrics and melodies into their places. Sometimes I’d ask him at the end of the day, “How’s the writing coming?” and he’d shake his head and shrug and wander off in clear defeat. The lines on Eric’s face are a testament to the bitter work of wringing a song into existence. If you ever doubt the hard labor of creation, take a good long look into the eyes of a writer like Eric and judge the weight of the struggle you find there. Eric wears his songs like scars, or bandages, or salves administered in the hope of renewal. He earns them, each and every one.

In the past months, as Eric and Ben and the other players set to the work of recording, those songs changed and grew took on lives of their own. But more importantly, I think they changed Eric. The bandages did their work. And that alone makes them worth the cost. We’ll have a full review of the record in a few days, but until then, let me tell you that I’ve heard the songs and they’re doing good work on my soul too. I can’t wait for them to work their magic on the rest of you.

You can hear an early mix of one of the songs here. And when you pre-order Birds of Relocation, you’ll be able to immediately download a track called “Different, Separate Lives.” The rest of the album will be available digitally on March 27th. CDs will ship the first week of May. Find all the details here in the Rabbit Room Store.