Album Review: Night Birds - Born to Die in Suburbia

People who swear off of punk because “all of the bands sound the same” are lazy. Simply put, they’re lazy. It is easy to find 4,000 bands that sound alike; but if you dig deep and get lucky you might find a band like Night Birds. I was lucky enough to stumble on them just as they released Fresh Kills Vol. 1 on Grave Mistake. Since then I have pretty much drooled over anything they have released like it was an old Bad Brains album I’d never heard before.

Night Birds return with their second full-length record “Born to Die in Suburbia”. It is hard to believe that this album is only technically a sophomore release, following four EPs and their debut LP “The Other Side of Darkness”, also on Grave Mistake Records. Born to Die sounds like the band is hitting their stride nicely. Fresh off a release with Fat Wreck Chords for their Maimed for the Masses EP (of which the title track about wrestler Mick Foley also appears on this album), it would seem that they are headed in the right direction of gradually gathering fans while sticking to a sound they have developed.  

The songwriting is a mix of angsty songs about self-loathing and hating Christmas gatherings, surf-punk instrumentals, and tracks about pop culture (the continued references to John Carpenter don’t hurt a thing). The album as a whole feels more hardcore influenced than their previous works since it is much more driven by the vocals. That being said, the guitar work is still just as catchy as ever.

There are a few things that have unjustly pigeonholed this band since “Killer Waves”: the fact that East Bay Ray was somewhat influenced by surf guitar, causing everyone to compare them to DK; and the fact that Joey Erg is one of the founding members, forcing the comparison to The Ergs. This album will hopefully cement Night Birds as a band of their own, not one defined by their influences.

Born to Die has some of the same surf punk influence that helps set the band apart, but reaches a bit further to include a large variety of songs. The fast songs are much more aggro than any of their previous releases. The vocals go over the top with energy and anger. The slow songs bring on feelings of angst and tension, before releasing it in the first few beats of the next track.

If someone tells you that punk is dead, I would suggest that you hand them a copy of this album. It is somehow a perfect mix of modern and old school. To me, the biggest downside of the album is that there are only 14 tracks, and two of those are instrumentals. I would love to have a longer album to see how deep the band can really dig when writing songs. That being said, “Born to Die in Suburbia” is not for everyone. It isn’t spikey punk, but if you’ve ever enjoyed 80’s hardcore, Dick Dale, or good loud fast music, give it a listen.

The album will be out tomorrow (July 8th). 

Album Review: Big Eyes - Almost Famous

               

               Upon listening to the new LP by Seattle’s Big Eyes, I could’ve sworn I had travelled back in time to 1993.

                I understand the connotations of that declaration can be misconstrued, so I’ll clarify. I do not refer to the espresso-fueled smack-Rock that dominated the mainstream Rock world that year. The long-haired hit-makers, adorned in gilded flannel,  gained mammoth popularity mixing  the bone-headed arena Rock of Zeppelin, the dirge-y drone of early Sabbath and the occasional spark of punk attitude.

                Big Eyes smell like 1993, to me, more for their kinship to that period’s less profitable outfits. Big Eyes’ music feels musically indebted to gorgeous College Rock bands like Superchunk, Posies, The Muffs, and fellow Washingtonian underdogs The Fastbacks.

                A power-trio, Big Eyes’ version of adrenalized Power-Pop is a delight. While none of the songs here are reinventing the three-minute Rock song, their energy is a breath of fresh air. It should be noted that Big Eyes are a Rock band with punk energy, not the reverse. So punk fans looking for an album of mohawked vignettes that spit venomous, anti-establishment shrapnel at 200 BPM should look elsewhere.

                Still, Big Eyes are a hoot, even for hard-line punk fans. For an era where the term “emotional” used in the same breath as “punk” often conjures memories of absolutely awful bands (bands I am too polite to mention), Big Eyes find a harmonious balance that doesn't  veer into the maudlin (see: Jawbreaker).

                ‘Almost Famous’ is a sharply recorded album. Crisp fidelity makes the most of Kate Eldridge’s big, meaty guitars, Chris Costalupes’s tasty bass lines, and Dillan Lazzareschi’s sweat-drenched drumming. The songs are anything but static. Granted there are standard, three-or-four chord pop-punk numbers, yes. Those songs don’t disappoint, though, as they are delivered with the sugary toughness of early Nick Lowe recordings. Arpeggiated sweetness gives way to muscle car riffing, palm-muted Descendents-inspired attacks dissolve into an almost Mod-inspired strumming.

                I’m not sure if this indie band ever will be “famous”. I’m not sure that’s possible. Moreover I’m not sure that’s the point at all. This record may not change your life, but it may just change your mind about the health and well-being of old-fashioned Rock ‘N Roll bands that deliver the goods in 180-second bursts. And in the almost dystopian musical landscape of this current century, ‘Almost Famous’ just might make a few kids smile. That’s worth ten US dollars.

written by Jef Leppard