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Two Dark Birds is an American rock band based in Pakatakan Mountain, NY. Their debut album was released in March 2008. Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist Steve Koester, formerly of Punchdrunk, also writes and performs with the group Maplewood.
In 2007, Koester formed Two Dark Birds with drummer Jason Mills and guitarist/singer/engineer Don Piper. The band released its [1] debut on Vfib Recordings in 2008. The band also includes bassist Jude Webre and keyboardist Ben Wildenhaus. The band calls the music “American Soul” and with traces of Neil Young’s On the Beach and the Band’s Music from Big Pink, and echoes of Dylan, Bill Withers, and the Meat Puppets, that label certainly seems to fit. The debut album was mixed by Joel Hamilton. The record received some great reviews. The Big Takeover called it “one of this year’s most subdued and moving releases.” Men’s Vogue called it “a masterful soundtrack to self-reflection.” The album also featured contributions from members of The Wrens, Guster, Maplewood, and The Hold Steady. In 2009, Two Dark Birds recorded a song for an Esopus Magazine compilation based on the Guy Maddin film “The Saddest Music in the World.” Spring 2009 saw the band returning to the studio to start work on their second album.
In 2011, the band released its second album on Riot Bear Recording Co. Produced by Steve Koester and Jason Mills, and recorded by Don Piper, the album featured the addition of Jude Webre on bass and Ben Wildenhaus (formerly of Federation X) on keyboards. From Chronogram Magazine's review: ”Two Dark Birds embrace the rich Catskill Roots Music template; Songs for the New abounds with sonic nods to The Band, Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, and the epic gestures of Mercury Rev. Fuzzy keyboards and fingerpicked acoustics rub against violins and horns, and then it’s just Koester and Co. unplugged, offering a one-two punch of loss and exuberance over the metallic caress of a dobro. From barnburner to ballad, the full-grown men in Two Dark Birds execute these tunes with edgy intensity and hard-won grace.” In 2012, they released Black Blessed Night EP, a companion EP to the album, featuring alternate versions and alternate mixes of several of the songs from 'Songs for the New.'