North Carolina's rustic indie trio Bowerbirds are giving fans a preview of their forthcoming CD, Upper Air, by putting out one of the CD's songs, "Northern Lights" as a free MP3. It's a Dylanesque dirge that's a bit more rhythmically forceful than the group's previous work.

Bandleader Phil Moore gave me an idea of what the new album would sound like when I interviewed him recently. "There will be a little more instrumentation," he said. "And there are actual full drums on some songs." This song is a good example of what Moore was getting at.

The trio also just announced dates for their summer tour, which starts July 6 in Washington, DC, moves across the Midwest and winds up in Atlanta, GA Aug. 17. Go here for details (and scroll down to where it says "Bowerbirds").