Formed in 2006 by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller, Balmorhea craft textural post-rock infused with classical elements. Based in Austin, Texas, the ensemble draws on a rotating roster of supporting players and foregrounds expressive strings alongside assorted other instruments, yielding intricately textured, bucolic atmospheres that at times echo a more earthbound counterpart to post-classical indie groups such as Stars of the Lid and Rachel's. Their catalog encompasses richly arranged ensemble recordings typified by the widely praised 2009 album All Is Wild, All Is Silent, as well as leaner, more intimate statements such as 2021's The Wind.
Balmorhea's self-titled first album, captured by Lowe and Muller alone, appeared as an independent release in 2007. The duo then moved to Western Vinyl, which issued Rivers Arms in 2008; violinist Aisha Burns, who became a core member, appeared alongside cellist Erin Lance and guitarist/bassist Jacob Glenn-Levin. All Is Wild, All Is Silent arrived the next year, adding bassist Travis Chapman, vocalist Jesy Fortino, cellist Nicole Kern, and drummer Taylor Tehan to the core of Lowe, Muller, and Burns, with All Is Wild, All Is Silent: Remixes following later in 2009.
After extensive touring across the United States and Europe, the band reconvened to record Constellations in 2010, retaining most of the preceding album's personnel. Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk surfaced in 2011, and the stylistically varied fifth studio album Stranger appeared in 2012, substituting cellist Dylan Rieck for Kern and introducing Kendall Clark on drums and percussion. Western Vinyl reissued the original self-titled debut in 2014, the same year the 7" Heir was released. Clear Language, the sixth album, emerged in 2017, tracked chiefly by Lowe, Muller, and Burns; a six-piece configuration of the group supported it on the road. Clear Language: Reworked and the non-album singles "Chime"/"Shone" and "The Most Fleeting" all came out in 2018. Returning in part to earlier practices, the 2021 full-length The Wind spotlighted Lowe and Muller on piano together with horn player Morris Kliphuis, cellist Clarice Jensen, and vocalist Lisa Morgenstern, marking Balmorhea's debut release on Deutsche Grammophon.
