Friends since college, Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski have a special connection that serves as the essence of Blind Pilot. The pair's minimalist folk-pop sound revolves around simple melodies, sparse drumming and captivating vocals, while its lyrical bent often calls to mind folk-rock contemporaries such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Fleet Foxes, The Shins and Iron & Wine. Last year, the duo went on a West Coast bicycle tour, which took Blind Pilot from Vancouver to San Francisco. Around this time, the pair recorded 3 Rounds and a Sound, a warm but haunting debut.
The band's touring plans have grown more geographically ambitious since then: In August, it'll perform in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, in support of The Decemberists and Andrew Bird. This time, Blind Pilot's stage performances will feature a large backing band to provide rich horn arrangements and other elaborate instrumentation.
Copyright 2009 XPN