[rating=3.50]
Having supported The Flaming Lips and Raconteurs in recent years, psychedelic rock band Birds Of Avalon indeed have an uncanny ability to make retro sound relevant again on Uncanny Valley, especially on the short but punchy “Side Two” but up the ante on the heady “I Never Knew” and the vibrant “Eyesore” thanks to the guitar work of husband Paul Siler and wife Cheetie Kumar.
Although most of the tunes rarely push the three-minute mark, one particular highlight is the trippy, groovy “Your Downtime Is Up” which sounds like a refined, studio-obsessed Jack White project. A few hiccups and stop-start head-scratchers present themselves such as “Dadcage” and the arty “Spirit Lawyer” but the punk flashed Student Teaching” is quite the two-minute adventure. On the whole there are plenty of upsides in this uncanny musical valley.
