The songs are fairly sad.  The music is fairly quiet.
The vocals are fairly hushed.  The tone is fairly somber.

Although the sound of this new group is still coming together, the songs are written in the vein of Belle & Sebastian, The Secret Stars, Elliot Smith, Low, and others in this end of the musical spectrum -- that is to say, sparse, melancholy pop.  The instrumentation of The Mending Wall provides a somewhat-orchestral vibe to the sound.

The Mending Wall came about when, after moving from a Durham farmhouse to a Carrboro apartment  complex, Gary began writing quiet songs on an acoustic guitar.  Most of  these wouldn't work with his other band of the time, Gumption.  Armed with the idea to put a new band  together for these songs, he posted a message to alt.music.chapel-hill.  Based on the initial response, The Mending Wall was going to be a big band -- at one point eight people.  After dropping to three and then bouncing up and down for a few months, the group settled to four participants. This will probably change semi-regularly.  But, for now the line up is as follows:.

 
• Heather Russell - oboe, pennywhistle, recorder, vocals
• Pete Lucey - accordion, organ
• Gary Miller - acoustic guitar, vocals
• David Schulman - violin, viola
   
Each member has other musical activities.  Heather is a solo artist and also lends her talents to various recording projects in the area.  Gary, Pete, and David were all in the western-swinging Earl Wells and the Gushers, a wonderful little combo that no longer exists. Gary played in Gumption for close to three years..