Portland-based folk-rock band, The Builders and The Butchers, are now exclusively streaming their forthcoming, fifth album,The Spark. Listen HERE. The album was released Friday, May 19th on Badman Recordings Co., and this record will be the band's third release with the label. The CD and LP are available for order through Badman, and can be purchased HERE.

NPR says, "The Butchers will return with The Spark, which carries on in the group's tradition of tightly wound roots music that never feels tethered to a single era." The band's latest music video, "No Grave," premiered recently on American Songwriter, who says the clip "takes the term “spaghetti Western” pretty literally." Consequence of Sound, who debuted the band's single, "Never Tell," call the song a "stomping, banjo-led number about the afterlife and a showdown with the devil." 

Their last album was also hailed by Consequence of Sound, who said, “The Builders and the Butchers make records the way the bards used to pass on stories. They’re poetic and captivating, and do to songwriting what Clint Eastwood does to movies,” and this new record follows the same, narrative-driven path.

With comparisons to The Decemberists coming from Pitchfork and The Washington Post, among others, their brand of folk-rock is best served live. Audiences can look forward to lively performances, where fourth wall is broken and the audience is able to participate in call and response sing-a-longs. Sometimes the band will hand out instruments for fans to play, and they’ll even get down off stage to perform right on the floor.

The Builders and The Butchers formed in 2005. Ryan Sollee fronts the band, sings and plays guitar, joined by Willy Kunkle (bass, guitar, vocals, percussion), Justin Bair (drums, backup vocals, percussion) and Harvey Tumbleson (mandolin, banjo, guitar, vocals, percussion). The Portland-based band gained a strong following after years of playing anywhere and everywhere across the city. They quickly grew to become one of the most exciting live bands in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The band toured throughout the US and Europe from 2007-2012, playing music festivals, such as Sasquatch and Lollapalooza, and acting as support for Portugal. The Man, Heartless Bastards, Amanda Palmer and Murder By Death. To support their forthcoming release, The Spark, the band will be playing their first US and European tour in multiple years.

This new album features a wider array of sounds and shorter, impactful songs, while remaining a Builders’ record at heart. The process of creating The Spark was the longest of any Builders’ record to date. They spent the last five years writing the music and a year mixing. With several band members living out of state (Justin in Colorado, Willy in Malta, Harvey in Washington and Ryan and Ray in Portland), many parts were recorded remotely. Drums and much of the electric guitar were recorded at Revolver Studios and the rest was laid down piece-by-piece and mixed by Edgar McCrae at his home studio. Influences for the record range from Tom Waits to The White Stripes.