The Wooden Birds get by with a little help from friends

Life is always better when you're a little less lonely, even when the desired sound is perhaps something lonely and reflective.

Andrew Kenny, frontman of rising indie folksters The Wooden Birds, found that out in the making of band's latest record, Two Matchsticks, released June 7.

The former frontman of The American Analog Set, a band that always seemed to be on the brink of fame, and touring musician for bands like Broken Social Scene and The Album Leaf, says the making of Two Matchsticks was far different from what he experienced as the sole full-time Wooden Bird on his 2009 debut under the moniker, Magnolia.

Kenny enlisted the help of Leslie Sisson, Sean Haskins and Matt Pond. Pond, best known for his work under the name "Matt Pond PA," is a vetted musician in his own right, which made it all the more strange when the singer-songwriter agreed to join The Wooden Birds.

"I don't know how he ended up in this band. I don't know why he remains in his band," Kenny jokes.

The story actually goes a little something like this. As the life of a touring musician goes, two musicians cross paths several times over the years.  Respecting each other's work, the men exchange demos with each other, both offering humble suggestions to make it better. When Kenny was seeking a full-time guitarist, he jokingly threw the suggestion out to Pond, expecting a chuckle back. Instead, he got the response that expanded the band's lineup from one to four.  

"Get me a plane ticket."

Looking back on it, it seems more like it was meant to be, really. Kenny says that, no matter what he did, there was just no hiding from what was meant to happen.

"The roads have always led back to Matt Pond," he says. "He plays my songs better than I do."

With a band lineup in place, Kenny began to look around for other collaborators to lend their voice to Two Matchsticks. Another musician he ran into on the road was Ben Gibbard, perhaps indie music's biggest star and lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie.

The two first came across each other at South by Southwest years ago as Death Cab was touring their very first record. Similar to the Matt Pond story, Kenny and Gibbard would trade songs back and forth. The song they eventually collaborated on for Two Matchsticks was a long time in the making, Kenny says.

"That song is as old as our friendship," he says. "I asked ‘How can we make this a Wooden Birds song?' and eleven years later, it's on the record."

It seems Kenny is all about collaborations, which is why his early days at the lone Wooden Bird were out of character.

"I really do like making music with people," he says.

Spending time collaborating with legends Broken Social Scene, as well as lending his skills to The Album Leaf, Her Space Holiday, Styrofoam and more, Kenny has learned to be a bit finicky. It's difficult for him to decide if he'd rather front up a tour, or just jam in the background.

On the one hand, he says, you get to showcase your own work to the world in a sort of cathartic way. On the other, you don't have to worry about the same stress that's associated with running a tour.

"I get burnt out on both. You get really stressed out when you're the band organizer. It's your responsibility to make sure people don't dehydrate and die," he jokes.

The Wooden Birds, Rhythm Room, June 16, 7:30 p.m., $10