There is a violent tension in the moniker Birds and Arrows, but the music that couple Pete and Andrea Connolly craft, spins that friction away from brutality and into elegant, elemental heights.  If you take even just one passing listen to their music, it’s apparent these are voices that aren’t in harmony so much as interlocked.  It’s as if two people wandering around the woods suddenly came upon each other and realized they were singing the same song– a romantic image made all the more apropos because Pete and Andrea are newlyweds.

Cute personal history aside, it’s the instrumental textures  and intimate lyrics that should really catch your attention.  From their debut EP Woodgrain Heart to their latest full length Starmaker, the Connolly’s have dreamed up what can only (to my ear) be described as a shimmering deconstructed pop-country sound.  There’s a grounded, vintage tone to the arrangements, but a spacey, voyeuristic disconnect in the translation.  All in all, it’s a head-scratchingly beautiful mess of music that you can catch at any number of local shows coming up in the near future.

So, now that you’re convinced they’ve got the musical chops, check how they tackle the furious five:

1. If your band were a craft project, what would it be?

PETE and ANDREA: We would be a little boat made out of Popsicle sticks.  See photo……

2. When was the moment you realized there was something to this musical partnership that needed to be shared?

PETE: When my brother Jon first played me a CD that Andrea had given him of her solo stuff.  I wanted to play drums, sing or just be a part of it.

ANDREA: I would say it was when I found out Pete was such an awesome drummer.  He made my songs much more interesting.  and also, the first time we sang harmony together.  Pete had written me this beautiful (sappy) love song and he would play it for me often and I would sing harmony on the choruses.

3. Describe your typical PE experience.

PETE: Getting picked second or third to last due to my height and huge Robert Plant hair but then the team being pleasantly surprised with my performance…..if I were even there cause I was probably scoring beer at the local Vietnamese Market.

ANDREA: I always thought I was as strong (if not stronger) than all of the boys.  Which at the time probably wasn’t that far off since most of them were still smaller than me and hadn’t hit puberty yet.  So, I would end up challenging them to a race or to a pull up contest etc…  Pete probably would say I am still like that to this day.  Trying to prove my strength and never asking for help when lifting my huge amp.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

PETE: I would have to say Boston.  When I was in 7th grade I used to drum on an office chair with rulers to “Smokin’”

ANDREA: Babs.  My mom says (I don’t remember this very well cause I was 3) whenever she would put on a Barbra Streisand record I would sing along for awhile and then claim that I could perform it much better.  So, all my musical career I have been secretly trying to out sing Barbra.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

PETE: I told my mom when I was 5 that I wanted to be a Jet Airplane salesman or I could fall back on being a Rockstar….the air industry doesn’t look so enticing anymore so I’m working on the Rockstar thing.

ANDREA: Well, music and performing is the only thing I have ever done since I could talk.  So, I would have to say a musician of some kind.  then, when I picked up a guitar in middle school and got introduced to classic rock I wanted to be Stevie Nicks  Oh, and I also in the back of my mind wanted to be a vet (like a lot of little kids)  I loved animals.  So, I actually tried this for a semester in college and after castrating a pig I realized it wasn’t for me.  So, back to the stage.

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