Salt For Salt is the first album by BROWN BIRD to capture the intense energy of the duo's live show, surging in waves that often swell into high-spirited, foot-stomping madness. DAVID LAMB's lyrics are as well-written as they are emotionally intelligent, thankfully avoiding the pitfalls of the wish-wash known as "modern-folk" or "singer-songwriting". Lamb and his partner MORGANEVE SWAIN write simply, and the record is eerily sparse at times-a tambourine, a bass drum and the cello often the sole accompaniement to Lamb's cracked, wood-smoke voice. Brown Bird are also not afraid to write experimentally- "Ebb and Flow" and "Shiloh" (the latter a longer, entirely instrumental track) each boast melodies worthy of a dervish, the melodic structure reminiscent more of Turkish or Greek rebetika than old-time or bluegrass.  Lamb's continual reference to ships clearly come from his years spent working at the shipyard in Warren, RI, just as their arrangements well only from a deep knowledge of the American folk tradition. A cantankerous and drafty two-man ship stationed in Providence, RI, Brown Bird plays original, traditional American music in the best sense possible. It is music that comes from a context but is not afraid of the context: a living root with a view towards the leaves.