Breaker! Breaker!
"Where All The Birds Yell" CD
Velocirecords
Genres: dance punk, indie rock, punk rock
band website
Sep 26 - Oct 3 2004 |
Where All The Birds Yell is Breaker! Breaker!'s first
"proper" release (following a couple of homemade EPs), and
Velocirecords is hoping the band will garner a following on the
dance-punk scene. Having shared the stage with The Gossip,
Lightning Bolt, Xiu Xiu, and dear old friends Parts
& Labor (Narnack), they are no stranger to indie rock's high
profile scene - in fact, this album was recorded by Chris Coady, who's
worked with The Yeah Yeahs, !!!, and TV on the Radio,
among others.
Given their credentials and accolades, I had high expectations for Breaker!
Breaker!. And while I didn't get the complete paring-down of
everything that's good about dance punk, I was still pleased with the
intense, infectious punk rock these guys have come up with.
"Magenta" is the finest song here - its aggressive energy is
complemented by a very catchy melody - if you aren't singing along,
you aren't really paying attention.
Breaker! Breaker! is separated into three parts - Collin,
the guitarist; Gina, the drummer; and Duncan, the
keyboardist. Vocals are supplied by everyone, often ranted as
opposed to sung (in accordance with the dance-punk manifesto.)
This means the songs are simple (breaking down "Uptown
Interlude," all you get is a simple guitar progression,
repetitive drumming, basic keyboard diddling, and ba-ba vocals), but
joyously so. They won't stay fresh for weeks, but can be
pulled out every once in awhile to get in your funky punk rock quota.
I won't pretend Where All The Birds Yell is a particularly
amazing record; few dance-punk albums are definitively
wonderful. However, in a genre of toss-offs and fly-by-night
collaborations, it's always worth taking note of a group as promising
as Breaker! Breaker! Good stuff, guys.
83%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
10 tracks + video, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
