All Music Guide Album Pick “Daughters and Suns” 4 Stars “The Owls are a rare band gifted with three very talented songwriters who are also three wonderful singers, each perfectly suited for the kind of melancholy, intimate setting they songs create. When they blend together in different formations, it can raise goose bumps and warm hearts.”
Out on a Limb: Before the Owls could take on the pop world, they had to face stage fright, shyness, and each other, by Peter S. Scholtes, City Pages. “…the results are sublime, like three good albums whittled into a single great one. Radio8Ball‘s Jones likens the Owls to a “pop songwriting class” led by a “genius” (Tighe), and you can sense the guiding hand of a gifted arranger. Yet Tighe himself is writing better than ever under the influence of the Owls. His irresistible “Ooooo, darlin’/There’s a lot to be done/And we’ve not begun” chorus on “All Those in Favor,” a Mark Mallman-esque piano rocker, is the closest he’s ever come to the righteous charm of the Beatles. His bandmates’ strengths, meanwhile, seem very much their own—LaBonne’s harsh melodic sense and May’s insinuating one, LaBonne’s storybook imagery and May’s literary touch…”
The Owls: the reluctant performers by Chris Roberts, MPR “The Owls’ music is spare and quiet. The singing, always prominent in the mix, features ethereal and occasionally dissonant harmonies. The melodies are often deceptively bright, given the dark emotions the lyrics sometimes convey. Because of the occasionally sober tone of the songs, and the group’s tentative stage presence, the Owls have been described as a band of librarians. For Allison LaBonne, making music with The Owls is about stripping away any persona, and getting to the essence of things…”
The Owls “Our Hopes and Dreams” Review, Pitchfork “An ephemeral record that wafts gently in the clouds somewhere damn near the Platonic indie pop ideal…”
Minnesota Public Radio Songs from Scratch Project “We gave three local bands — The Owls, The Roe Family Singers, and Matt Wilson — two weeks to take one set of lyrics and put it to music. Songs From Scratch follows all their scribbling, singing, strumming, and doubting to get a first-hand look at how a song unfolds…”