Album Review... Two Wounded Birds - Two Wounded Birds

After being name checked by authentic pop melody and punk innovators such as Brian Wilson and Debbie Harry, and gaining a long and ever-growing list of admirers, Two Wounded Birds deliver the goods with their awaited eponymous début album out on Jacob Graham of The Drums’ label, Holiday Friends Recording Co.

Judging by appearance, Two Wounded Birds are pretty in your face about their influences. Usually dressed in black and vintage leather motorcycle jackets etched with ‘rockabilly’, hair dyed raven and peroxide blonde, they not only have a gang look but possess a gang mentality – taking their rock ‘n’ roll very seriously. Hailing from Margate, and seemingly via NYC circa 1950 with a brief sojourn in the Big Rotten Apple of the 70s, they’d seem best placed in an old seaside pub, like something out of a kitchen sink drama. You can imagine the leader Johnny Danger strolling up to the jukebox, dropping in a couple of coins, and with a press of those luminescent buttons a few 45s spin into action from the all time authentic cats who blazed the trail of early rock and opened the doors for punk and indie alternative. Two Wounded Birds’ collected minds explode, and sitting back, staring out to the glistening sea, the band dream up their distinctive collection of raw punk n roll pop strange majesty.

Opener ‘Together Forever’ is a raucous ramalama smash played with ferocity. Zombies-esque surfy guitar flies above snarling drums and bass, and gut wrenching, world weary dulcet tones. In ‘My Lonesome’, Danger and his pack deliver heartache on a plate. This song embodies Two Wounded Birds. It’s a bit twisted as he proclaims his state of agonising with vocals that are like a warm blanket. The guitars reach sun spangled heights as the mighty bass and drums roll on, and in the midst, low-fi Doorsy organ closes the song. Strangeness lurks behind, while ahead, ‘To Be Young’ delivers the sound of being high and ‘hopeless’ in a hopeful way. This is an indie pop classic that achieves the bittersweetness of inexperienced living. This band is not afraid of just simply creating and delivering pop glory unapologetically.



In ‘Daddy’s Junk’, proto-punk Jerry Lee Lewis has taken over their headspace. Keys thrash along with a smattering of Ramones-like nostalgia in the guitars, pounding drums, and howling vocal effects. Pure visceral energy. The nostalgia continues in ‘Night Patrol’. It’s a headlong dive exuding Shadows like swagger mixed with an air of the serene – like a sombre lullaby, but it’s inspirational in its twangy lurch, with a star gazed twinkly tinge. If Phil Spector wasn’t banged up, he’d be banging at their door to produce the next album. And the imprint of recording mavericks doesn’t stop there, because ‘The Last Supper’ is a surfy guitar wailing instrumental that sounds like it’s risen out of the embers of Joe Meek’s lost tapes.

On and on and the hits keep coming. ‘I’m No Saviour’ plays with your heart strings as you are smothered with Danger’s cosmos-reaching voice, the delicate touch on the guitars, and tinkling on the keys, but all the time he’s singing some disparaging things. It’s dreamy, sailing, while deep and raw. Up next, the current single ‘If Only We Remain’ is where the band show off how to make sincere music that combines the best of rock and pop. The contrast of angst and exhilaration, the highs and lows, are played to us in this beauty of a track, while Danger charmingly begs ...’don’t change’.

Anthemic indie track ‘Growing’ is the final song, but it’s also a beginning - it leaves the door open for the next album. As a wave of hazy guitars and an undertow of bass and drums take you away, that voice calls out one final time with a message of intensity and immediacy. The short trip through pockets of mysterious time and experience has ended, on this record, but the voyage has just begun. Two Wounded Birds have wild hearts and strange pop sounds – and a brilliant debut album to cherish.

Two Wounded Birds - Two Wounded Birds
Out of 10: 9/10

Written by - Libby Moné



[FACEBOOK]
[OFFICIAL SITE]

Track of the week... Givers - Ceiling Of Plankton

The band are heading over to the UK to play Latitude and Larmer Tree festivals this summer and to coincide with that they're releasing 'Ceiling of Plankton' as a stand along single on 30th July. There's a video to accompany the single release here if you want to check it out!



The track has a great summer vibe, so if you're going away or you are in a hot place right now, stick this on and play it all day. The summer party feel to it gives you something to reminisce about once you've listened to it as it's got great hooks and a chorus to remember!

Co-Written with Libby Moné



[FACEBOOK]
[OFFICIAL SITE]

Album Review... 2:54 - 2:54

A lot of attention has been thrust upon the sister duo, Hannah and Colette Thurlow, from the outset when they posted an online demo of ‘Creeping’. A blizzard of press chit chat, signing to Fiction, being a favourite band at Field Day 2011, and a slew of dates followed. 2:54 can sit comfortably and ignore any hungry frenzy of criticism that seems to always lie beside ‘hype’and any instant interest in a band. They’ve produced coolly emotional recordings that string together all the parts of their writings in a calculated proficient way. The collection of songs are both expansive and contained, evoked with the use of effects on swaying guitars – rhythm by Colette and heady lead by Hannah - and bass, without getting out of control or going beyond necessary boundaries. The ultra -effective drums provide a steady contribution to set those boundaries. The singing is dramatic, but never goes awry and to a place that would start to sound ridiculous or over indulgent. This is a testament to their adept talent for song writing.

2:54’s self titled début album could be an indispensable item to soundtrack a road trip. But not one through the sunny desert, rather one that’s a trek from grey windswept cracked brick unkempt streets, lined by relentless rows of cement conjoined houses and drenched in the scent of sulphur and damp, to the evergreen moors that envelope and hide secrets. Along the way, the unforgiving clouds above taunt you with cold calculated drops of rain. The trickle changes to an inescapable torrent of downpour that lashes your face – there’s no choice but to succumb to it and continue on your journey, as this atmosphere around you has created part of you. Even though this could make you maudlin, the immense surroundings also make you feel high and grand. You can recognise the feelings of two damned lovelorn cinematic characters painted in the introductory track ‘Revolving’, as the shoe-gazey guitars duel and the bass bluntly buzzes to the end where the lead singer Thurlow sister Colette, wails in turmoil, almost reaching the lengths that Kate Bush would go to.



The trip may take you through stormy seas. Trying to take cover from the air that’s violently whipping around doesn’t interest you. Instead you remain on deck outside, hanging over the edge of the boat, staring into the dark opaque depths of the water - it’s mesmerizing, it speaks to you through the gurgles and waves. The romanticism of the waiting and the voyage out of the undiscovered bottomless water and over to land to meet your lover and ‘be close’ is evoked in previous single ‘You’re Early’. The sumptuous serene vocals display deepness, similar to those of Pale Saints. The vocal and musical layering could draw comparisons to Warpaint, but 2:54’s songs are without overly piled on delay and effects. This track’s hazy guitars use subtle effects and keep the rawness intact. This probably draws from the bands that have inspired them and the assistance of Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and Alan Moulder (Curve, MBV, Smashing Pumpkins).

‘Scarlet’ rings of the predatory nature of a BRMC number with its slow burning drive, where the guitars drone, the vocals echo one another – the sisters are each other’s doppelgänger – and all eventually culminate in a harsh collision of vibrating bass and guitars. The trek continues and the steps take you back to the industrial surroundings in a wet valley, but the liberating feeling remains. Take refuge from the smallness in the pub or back bedroom, knowing that the grandiose sentiment is attainable. The moodiness is uplifting, and this especially comes through on the track ‘Creeping’, their latest single release, where the music stands in disparate places as it changes from surges to swells of guitars.

Even though the group’s moniker is taken from the point in time of the sisters’ savoured part of their favourite Melvins track, there’s no absolute derivation from that scene. The sisters have joined their separate and agreed loves together, which complements and meshes with each others, to produce captivating songs. And while their musical outpourings draw immediate comparisons to many early 90s bands, they’ve achieved in creating an atmospheric, moody and poised début album that stands strong.

2:54 - 2:54
Out of 10: 8/10

Written by - Libby Moné



[FACEBOOK]
[OFFICIAL SITE]