Featured Artist: The Builders and the Butchers

Where The Decemberists evoke fantastical sea voyages and epics on the scale of classic English literature, Portland city-mates The Builders and the Butchers are a whole different kind of indie folk. This is the soundtrack to Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, the sad songs of the Great Depression or the Dust Bowl, where life is hard and death is even harder. It's Southern gothic, I suppose. It's not hard to get lost in the Portland quintet's somber music, each song weaves its own tale, with storylines branching between tracks and even between albums. Their sophomore album, Salvation Is a Deep Dark Well, lands on June 16. It's a triumph of chilling melodies, heart-wrenching stories and rousing anthems. Hear it now on Future Perfect Radio.

Listen to The Builders and the Butchers on: Future Perfect Radio, New Music, Featured Artists, Lollapalooza '09, Au Naturale, Portland

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