Lewis Clarke emerged from rural Pennsylvania in the early 2000s as the slowcore side project of songwriter Lou Rogai. Formerly a solo musician, Rogai had made a name for himself with the release of a well-received EP, Empty Throne, in 2000. The Lewis Clarke moniker found him working alongside several collaborators, and the rotating lineup first committed its strummed, lo-fi intimacy to wax with the self-released Bright Light EP. Released in 2003, the EP's Americana sound drew comparisons to such artists as Codeine and Giant Sand.

The full-length Bare Bones and Branches hit European shores later that year, followed by an American release in 2005. Rogai then set to work on another album, 2007's Blasts of Holy Birth, which examined the relationship between spring and birth. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi