Sick Sick Birds
Heavy Manners
Toxic Pop (2009)
Sometimes life gets in the way of good music. When the Thumbs disbanded in 2003, Mike Hall and Bobby Borte needed a new outlet. They formed Sick Sick Birds, but families and education have slowed the band's production, leading them to release their first full-length in 2008. Heavy Manners isn't a far stretch from their previous band, but Sick Sick Birds are their own project and should be judged as such. While the voices and songwriting are familiar, Sick Sick Birds incorporate influences from 70's rock to indie. At their heart, and mostly on their sleeve too, the band fits under the pop-punk umbrella. It's just that bands like this tend to make that umbrella grow. The song structures are more complicated and the guitars have greater variation, but whenever I hear Hall's voice, I'm immediately brought back to those screaming Thumbs days. It may partly be association from prior works, but something in his voice is perfect for a pop-structured, wounded and angry outlet of a song. While the backing instrumentation accentuates the mounting frustration that Heavy Manners' songs represent, Hall's voice is what carries them. The frustration that he bleeds is done through nuance: Hall isn't screaming himself … Read more
King Khan & The BBQ Show
Invisible Girl
In The Red (2009)
In his two-piece with Mark "BBQ" Sultan, King Khan & The BBQ Show brings garage rock as it's meant to … Read more
Rabid Rabbit
Rabid Rabbit
Interloper (2009)
As certain styles of music catch hold and thus become revered and oft emulated, making or doing something to makes … Read more
Eagle Twin
The Unkindness of Crows
Southern Lord (2009)
Gentry Densley is somewhat of a living legend in the metal world. Unfortunately I am not as familiar with his … Read more
Nadja / Black Boned Angel
Nadja / Black Boned Angel
20 Buck Spin (2009)
Having these two notable monikers teaming up for a second collaboration is just right up my alley, particularly because their … Read more
