Gifts or Creatures serves as the creative outlet for the husband-and-wife team of Brandon and Bethany Foote. The pair, who reside in Lansing, Michigan, started composing material jointly in 2009 and put out their first full-length release, Pilot House, the following year on the Earthworks Music collective from that state. Their atmospheric style fuses folk, pop, and Americana influences with a pronounced focus on history, yielding results that range from darkly atmospheric to lyrically wistful. Brandon’s warm electric guitar and Bethany’s Wurlitzer electric piano define the group’s sonic identity alongside their understated vocal harmonies. After several years spent touring and developing new material, the duo began work on a second album that appeared in September 2013. Yesteryear Western Darkness incorporated an expanded lineup featuring pedal steel, vibraphone, and a complete rhythm section. Returning in fall 2017, Gifts or Creatures issued Fair Mitten (New Songs of the Historic Great Lakes Basin), an intricate set of original compositions that traces multiple centuries of Great Lakes regional lore and history.
