[rating=3.50]
Birds of Avalon’s self titled LP is their fourth release in four years, following two full lengths and an EP. Having toured with The Racounters, The Flaming Lips, Black Mountain, Mudhoney, and Monotonix, the Raleigh, North Carolina band release this album on Portland’s Bladen County Records. Birds of Avalon must be one of the few touring bands that sports a dueling, husband and wife guitar attack. Paul Siler and Cheetie Jumar’s churning, melodic and quirky axe work propels the LP forward alongside a vibe that mixes melodically rhythmic bass patterns, Merseybeat’s steady, thunder pop drumming and pleasantly spacey vocals.
A song like “Invasion” showcases Birds’ ability to marry distorted pop dissonance inside a thick wall of guitars. However, they manage to maintain the chugging drum lunges and discover lost remnants of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles in the vocals. Soon enough the song bleeds into heavy power chords. That 1960s Merseybeat sound of The Hollies and The Flamin’ Groovies lingers throughout the album while modern sonic washes and just a dash of prog-rock’s twisting song construction sear the music into more psychedelic territory.
“Road To Oslo” is built on a inviting British invasion guitar lick and soothing vocals before a break bends the song into lock step groove and reverse guitar feedback. “& Moonbeams” veers into more mellow space pop but remains colored by a similarly peculiar aural breeze. The album’s biggest strength is the sense of cohesion throughout. An album in the old school context, each song practically fades into the next, so much so, that upon the first few listens I questioned if there were any gaps at all. “& Moonbeams” begets “Diggi Palace” a vaguely Indian themed piece with table-esque polyrhythms.
Birds of Avalon was recorded on analog equipment and although my copy is on CD I suggest listening on vinyl. The songs are constructed with a clear intention of vibrational sculpting; patiently layered sounds build and peel away revealing space and purpose underneath. The album finishes with the fabulous “The Shadowy End” a song that sounds like something The Flaming Lips, The Slip, and Dr. Dog welded together inside their collective consciousness.
