Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers is an American indie folk band from Portland, Oregon. After fronting several rock bands in his native Idaho, singer/songwriter Justin Ringle moved to Portland, OR in 2004 and began focusing on acoustic music, playing open mics regularly under the moniker Horse Feathers. In 2005, multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick heard a couple of Justin's demos and offered to help flesh them out. In February 2006 the duo went into Skyler Norwood's Miracle Lake studios and recorded their debut album, Words are Dead, which was released that September on Portland label, Lucky Madison. Later that year, Peter's sister Heather Broderick joined the group on cello and by 2007, Horse Feathers began featuring a rotating cast of instrumentalists backing Justin's guitar and vocals. Justin and the Brodericks returned to Miracle Lake studios in the fall and winter of 2007 and recorded House With No Home, which was released on Kill Rock Stars in the spring of 2008. Around that time, Peter left the country to pursue music in Europe, and Nathan Crockett was enlisted to cover violin duties. Several months later, Heather also left the group to pursue other musical projects and cellist Catherine Odell came on board. The current lineup was rounded out at the beginning of 2009 when Sam Cooper joined as a multi-instrumentalist. As a four piece, the group has been touring extensively and released a new album entitled Thistled Spring on Kill Rock Stars, April 20th, 2010. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
About This Event
In 2026, Horse Feathers' debut album, Words Are Dead, celebrates its 20th anniversary. Kill Rock Stars is set to release a deluxe reissue that will be completely remastered and pressed on an exclusive vinyl color. It will include a replica of their original six-song demo CD in the package, along with a deluxe foil-stamped LP jacket.
To support the release, Horse Feathers' current ensemble of Justin Ringle (guitar, vocals, banjo), Nathan Crockett (violin, saw), Halli Anderson of River Whyless (violin, vocals), Kati Claborn of Blind Pilot (banjo, vocals, clarinet), and Luke Ydstie also of Blind Pilot (bass, cello, vocals) faithfully recreate the mood of the original release with taut dynamics and sensitive arrangements. In the years following Words Are Dead, Horse Feathers quietly built a body of work defined by patience and evolution rather than reinvention. Records like House With No Home, Thistled Spring, and Cynic's New Year expanded their sonic palette without abandoning the restraint that first set them apart.
By the time of Appreciation, the band had begun to open its sound outward, introducing richer arrangements and a subtle warmth that suggested growth without rupture. Through it all, Ringle remained a steady center, writing songs that favored emotional precision over spectacle. The reissue of Words Are Dead does not attempt to rewrite that history.
Instead, it brings the origin point back into focus, offering a rare chance to hear where it all began while recognizing how far the project has traveled since. Revisiting the album now, with two decades of distance, reveals not just a beginning but a foundation. The same careful interplay, the same attention to space and tone, still anchors the band's work today.
In that sense, the reissue feels less like a retrospective and more like a continuation. A reminder that some records do not age so much as they wait for the right moment to be heard again. Please note: Two item minimum.
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