2 posts tagged “deadbird”
)Birds, what is up with that? It seems lately that we're getting album artwork that features birds on the cover artwork (especially owls). Can someone explain this to me? Seriously.
Below are a ton of bird-album artwork.
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AVIARY GHOST
aviaryghost.com ♥ myspace.com
Fom Illinois is Aviary Ghost, a band that seems to be headed by Charlie Crimando and Stephen Kemsley. Reading their biography, it would seem that they spent a lot of time recording music in a one-room apartment in Michigan. One of my favorite song on their album, Memory Is A Hallway (featuring cut-out birds over a scenic location), is the most fast-moving song is "Windowlight", which seems to be about the light through the window - sung in an old-fashion cabaret-style song, which I will say works very well for the song. I thought "Somewhere Else" was also pretty good. The song is described as "catchy Swedish pop", which I'll have to agree with. The lyrics are pretty detailed too, I especially liked the chorus: "we're laughing, 'cause laughing is much better than a scream". You can get their album, Memory Is A Hallway (recently released July 15th), on iTunes or CD Baby.
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MORE TEETH
more-teeth.com ♥ myspace.com
I think someone in the W♥M group have this album, One Bird a Day, for review, so I won't go into too much details about it. Surfice to say that it's a compilation of three or four bands in the electro-genre. Based on what I've heard, I really dig Sparkydog (sounds like new wave) and More Teeth (which sounds like very experimental noise art). I've decided to go with More Teeth because of their snazzy drums and electroclashesque vocals of Mindy Abovitz. JESSICA LEA MAYFIELDjessicaleamayfield.com ♥ myspace.com
We're not really promoting Jessica Lea Mayfield (I don't think her PR company knows my address, which I will confess is fine as I have too much music to handle), but I couldn't resist the owl-art on her soon-to-be release album With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt out on September 16th on Polymer Sounds on her press release. What's there to say based on this one song, "Kiss Me Again"? She has a very nice voice, and sounds like Thao Nguyen. |
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PUTOIS
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Yet another Chicago, Illinois band - man, they really love their animals! I believe "putois" is actually a ferret or something. Anyway, on their second album, Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore, we see a crane with some ducks (while their debut album, The Thinking Fireplace features a cartoon bird dressed as a gentleman). It would seem that these introspective songs are written and sung by its creator, one Bob Mason since 1995. Most of this album is acoustic, mostly folky and the song "No More Dancing" would best represent what currently Putois sounds like. There are a few highlights on the record. For instance, I liked what he was trying to do with "Cta". This had a weird bass and quirky noises and beeps. Even his singing style is different here (although I think this might be a guest-vocalist? It just sounds very different). The other song that isn't so acoustic is "The Lonely Traveler" with its arrangement of piano and harmonica. If you like bands like Minnesota's Low, Putois might be right up your alley. Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore is out now, you can get it from CD Baby. |
PLUSHGUN
plushgun.com ♥ myspace.com
I love Tommy Boy Records. One of my first CD was a Tommy Boy and I just remember how big they were in the early 90s, especially with the b-boys and girls. Well, I guess the record label is still around and I have one of their latest release by one-man-band, Plushgun. Daniel Ingala's vocals sounds like he has a British accent, reminiscent of early 80s new wave pop bands. His latest self-titled EP has a cute drawing of a bird with an old SNES controller in a cassette-tape-style mess in the sky. All the songs were available for download on August 19th (iTunes). The four songs on the EP is a very easy listen. I love all the songs actually, with the exception of the semi-sappy "14 Candles". Although it was nice to hear a woman singing backup on this song, but I didn't think this song belong on the EP. Maybe I just don't like love songs. His other songs are more upbeat and sounds more like obsessive/stalker feel to them. There are some great lyrics on "Just Impolite" ("I walk the line, like Johnny Cash" and "I'm not upset, just impolite"). A physical copy of Plushgun will be available on September 9th via Amazon and other retailers for $9.99, but if you can't wait the download is sold now for 60% cheaper ($3.98) |
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BRICE WOODALL AND THE POSITRONS
bricewoodall.com ♥ myspace.com
Check out Brice Woodall and the Positrons with their album, Sine Wave Sea. The artwork on the cover is a flying bird block with a hole in its stomach. I know it's a bird because if you visit the artist's website (trevorbittinger.com), his all-flash website features these same block birds flying around. Brice Woodall is currently based out of Chicago, Illinois, according to his myspace. Woodall's vocals has a woman quality to them, but not in a falsetto way (and not as a put down). His voice is very interesting, it definitely pulls you in. I think my favorite songs off this album is easily "This, There, Where", a pop song with some interesting mix. I also dug the experiment on "Winter/Break/Down/Away". Well, it looks like they are currently on tour, be sure to check them out.
09/12/08 Double Door- Kittypalooza Chicago, IL 09/24/08 Rapture Charlottesville, Virginia 09/25/08 Lucky Buddha Richmond, Virginia 09/26/08 Trash Bar Brooklyn, New York 09/27/08 Murky (upstairs) Arlington/DC area, VA 11/08/08 Art*Bar Riverwest Milwaukee, Wisconsin 11/19/08 Madison, Wisconsin 11/20/08 Chicago, Illinois 11/21/08 Detroit, Michigan 11/22/08 Indianapolis, Indiana You can pick up Sine Wave Sea from InSound. |
CITIZENS OF CONTRARY KNOWLEDGE
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Featuring a drawing of a chicken on the cover of Citizens of Contrary Knowledge's You're What You Wish You Are. Upon closer inspection, is that a cock? They do sound a bit southern cock rock... Reading their biography, it would seem most of the band members are residing in Harlem, New York. Their singer/frontsman, Chris Barczynski, sounds like he doesn't take his biography too seriously (he writes that he was in the Witness Protection Program, etc). This is also a problem when he lists that he's appeared on stage with Green Day, Sugar Ray and Hootie - should you believe him? I'm leaning to 'no'. I was drawn to the faster/rock song and my favorite is "Complicated" and "Lonely Hearts Society", which is driven by a muscular guitar playing (with some neat tricks). Despite as I have said about their music being rock, they do lean to the sensitive/slow side with "House of Cards", "Unless You Do", "Real Love", and "Wrong Side of the World". I think listening to them that they might fare better as a live act, perhaps jamming their songs at a longer length at a dive bar. You're What You Wish You Are is out now, available on CD Baby. They just finished playing Arlene's Grocery, which is apparently a bar? |
Here is the bonus segment, some bird-bands we've previously covered: Tinkture, Birdflu, Story of the Year, The Alarmists, The Notwist, Loquat, El Perro Del Mar, Ben Sollee, Peter Bradley Adams (Owl), Death Valley Sleepers, Death Cab For Cutie, Patrick Wolf, Deadbird, Jeff Hanson (Owl), They Might be Giants (Owl), Eels, Biography Of Ferns, Computer Vs. Banjo (Owl), Ash, Susan Krebs
Bands we haven't covered, but I'm sure we'll get around to them. These features birds on the cover: The Great Northwest (Experimental Folk), Nebraska (Folk), Foals (British Rock), The Black Keys (Southern Rock), KYTE (Ambient Pop), and the talented Graeme K (Experimental/Old-time/Dance). Honorable worth mention is Abigail Washburn with her tiny birds on the cover.
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This is the kind of thing I like to get for review! Fayetteville, Arkansas's Deadbird have toured with Municipal Waste, and played with Kylesa, Torche, Harvey Milk, and Weedeater. And they've also put out a brutally heavy, epic, contemplative sludge masterpiece, Twilight Ritual, and it's out today for your purchasing and listening and cherishing to the end of time (and believe me: if you're into this sort of thing, you will). These guys share a bassist with Rwake and take a lot of influence from such bands as Eyehategod, His Hero Is Gone, and Asunder.
It busts out the doors with “Into the Clearing,” which takes its oddball twist early on with an acoustic passage. That doesn't take long to start speeding up into ultra-crusty territory made famous by such bands as Asbestosdeath (that's the hardcore band that evolved into Sleep, for those who don't know). This track strikes a nice balance between the two extremes.
“Death of the Self” sounds like the musical equivalent of an angry bear. The guitar work here is really cool, with huge, uncompromising, fast riffing that still manages to keep that stoned, heavy as hell sound, and the sung vocals sound really good, although the emphasis is kept on the sheer heaviness of this whole thing.
The opening guitar riff of “Rule Discordia” sounds like something Earth would do, to me. The awesome southern rock-tinged vocals and the aggressive drumming, however, do not. I really like how the guitars here have a hypnotic, droning effect, kind of along the lines of Earth on Pentastar, in that riff-based, but repetitive way that sticks in your head. Of course, the complexity of this is a few notches higher than that. The really punk rock section in the middle with the sort of bastardized thrash lead guitar is pure gold. The vocal harmonies near the end, and the acoustic outro pretty much bring this track into full-on awesome overload.
The beginning of “Feral Flame” reminds me either of an Operation Ivy song or a Leftover Crack song, and I'm not sure which. Maybe both. The vocal rhythm is all Leftover Crack, but I guess my point is that this song is all punk rock at the start, with a really, really crusty edge to it. Appropriately, it's also the shortest song here, clocking in at about five and a half minutes. It's almost two minutes shorter than the next shortest song. Of course, it doesn't take long to slow down into a murky sludge. The guitar solo has an awesome southern rock sound to it, that cuts right through everything.
“The Riverbed” couldn't start out farther away from where “Feral Flame” ended if it tried. The opening is acoustic with reverb-drenched vocals with a cool classic rock sound to them. The vocal harmonies kick in a couple minutes in and the song builds from there. Of course, this thing is eight minutes long, and the distortion kicks in after three, without disrupting the flow of the song as it was. The vocals get more and more hoarse and crusty, not losing the melody they started with, regardless, until about five minutes in, where that cool “angry bear” sound this singer has pretty much mastered comes back in full force, over bludgeoning riffs and heavy but melodic leads.
The title track, “Twilight Ritual” starts out with a slow, repeating chord progression that builds into a heavier version of itself with more “angry bear” vocals. I dig how the lead on this part sounds like it's melting the tubes on the amp, or like it's being played through a Russian Big Muff with an almost-dead battery. It's got this nice, scratchy quality. This track kinda trades off back and forth between soft parts and heavy parts, with most of the emphasis on the heavy. I couldn't think of any better way to end this album, than with some of the most majestic sludge a band can make. And that's exactly what you get here.
Anyway,
these dudes are on tour now. Here are the dates:
Jun 24 2008, WONDERLAND w/ Hail!Hornet & Lord By Fire, Richmond, Virginia
Jun 25 2008, REGGIES w/ Sourvein & Black Tusk, Wilmington, North Carolina
Jun 26 2008, DRUNKEN UNICORN w/ Zoroaster & Black Tusk, Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 27 2008, THE HAVEN w/ Black Tusk, Orlando, Florida
Jun 28 2008, TRANSITIONS SKATE w/ Black Tusk & Dark Castle, Tampa, Florida
Jun 29 2008, SLUGGO’S w/ Parabellum, Pensacola, Florida
Jun 30 2008, BANKS STREET BAR w/ Haarp and A Hanging, NOLA, Louisiana
Jul 1 2008, RUDYARDS, Houston, Texas
Jul 2 2008, ROCK BOTTOM TATTOO BAR w/ Religious Vomit, Pillcrusher & more, San Antonio, Texas
Jul 3 2008, RED 7 w/ Mala Suerte, Lions of Tsavo, Mammoth Grinder & Faithhealer, Austin, Texas
Jul 4 2008, BAR OF SOAP w/ Mala Suerte, Dallas, Texas
Jul 5 2008, DOWNTOWN METAL w/ Mala Suerte, Seahag, Parrabellum & tba?, Little Rock, Arkansas
And more info can be found at the band's MySpace page.
-Soup
