Electric Bird Noise
“Unleashing the Inner Robot” (10 Tracks. 46:26. Artfag).The name of this band is deceptively funny. What I mean is that from the name you might get the idea that these guys are just jokers or that the music is quirky techno. Neither is really the case—I mean, they may have a sense of humor, but this is seriously great music.
You can close your eyes while listening to this CD and see pictures painted by the music. This is called impressionism. Impressionist paintings are those paintings that look like odd blotches of colors up close but if you look at them from a distance you see a boat or flowers. Impressionistic music is where the sounds portray images like Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” or “Nutcracker Suite”. With songs like “Lazy Tumbleweeds”, “The Hum of the Moon”, “The Shape of Clouds to Come” and so on you can see how this bands music fits into the impressionistic category. Frankly, I know of no other tight way to classify them. For one thing, the keyboards are very darkwave and much programming is done. Track 8, for instance, is a quiet darkwave number which immediately reminds one of EnGrave or Caul. At other times the music is very aggressive like “Japanese Toy Song” and “Number Four”. But what really pulls EBN out of a tight category is the exceptional guitar playing, the masterful use of dynamics, and great melodies. Each track is a “pocket symphony”, to use Brian Wilson’s term, and takes the listener from quiet moments to intense swells. While the bedrock of these ten songs are obviously the drum loops and keyboards, the guitars soar. The guitar playing immediately reminds me of two well-known virtuosos: Phil Keaggy and Uli Jon Roth. Phil Keaggy made a great album called “The Wind and the Wheat” which keeps popping into my head as I listen to this CD, and many times the guitar playing makes me think of Uli Jon Roth’s “Beyond the Astral Sky”. In short, I find myself quite enraptured by this disc.
Order from: Electric Bird Noise
5708 Long Leaf Drive
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Email: ebnoise@aol.com
$10 + $2 shipping and handling