Sidewalk bands generally don’t garner much attention.

Up-and-coming band The Builders and the Butchers seem determined to break that norm, already making waves in the music world.

The band recently released Salvation is a Deep Dark Well, and started a tour of western United States.

The new album is the second complete album the band has released. This album employs the same dark sound and thoughtful lyrics that The Builders and the Butchers did, but it goes much deeper in exploring those folk themes.

The band plays around with the instrumentation, employing everything from piano to mandolin to cowbell.

The sound produced easily encapsulates the depression of the 1930s and combines it with the anarchist themes of the 1960s. The result is powerful, a compilation that manages to be both raw and beautiful.

The members are originally from Alaska but moved to Portland, Ore., to pursue their dreams.

The Builders and the Butchers was born after several earlier attempts at playing together failed.  One day the five long-time friends gathered in drummer Ray Rude’s house. The day was meant to be casual and a safe place for lead singer Ryan Sollee to test out some new ideas.

As they played together, something clicked. The sound was edgy, calling on the traditions of American folk music, but pumping it up with a rock beat and deconstructed drum style.

They sought out places to perform, playing on sidewalks and in front of venues. Though the shows in those early days of 2005 were rough, Sollee’s voice grew warm. The band went from place to place, playing unplugged and on the floor with the audience.

The band’s passion was contagious, and the population of Seattle soon took notice, awarding the Builders with Willamette Week’s “Best New Band of 2008” honor and Seattle Sound’s “Best Live Performers 2008.”

Despite the bigger venues and amped instruments that have come with success, Sollee doesn’t want the dynamic between the performers and the audience to change.

He still wants fans to leave concerts with the idea that there doesn’t have to be a separation between band and audience, allowing everyone to participate in the music-making process.

This band is weaving the sounds of the nations past into a promising future. To find out more about the band, go to www.thebuildersandthebutchers.com.