THE SUICIDAL BIRDS: Z- List
The Suicidal Birds are a troop of Dutch lunatics (two boys and two
girls, to be precise) who take pride in their out dated amps, home-made
pedals, drum machines and the fact that singer, Jessie, doesn't sing
very well. The result is "punk blues with a rock n roll sauce",
as in what might be the result of The White Stripes, Bis and Yeah Yeah
Yeahs getting a gang of three-year-olds plastered at a sordid party
and handing them a microphone and some saucepans to bang on. Or a drum
machine to play with. And then watching them violently throwing up (see
"Puke song"). Quirky.
Basically, if you don't care if the song has much of a tune and just
want something to stomp to in a drunken haze then this is it. Shouty
and shambolic in the most endearing way, you either get what they're
trying to do or you don't. Personally, I think this is a lot of fun;
tracks like the kooky "Crazy like a bird" to the all-out noisy
pop of "Summersetsun" and experimental country of "Sad
song" may be songs only a mother could love- not to mention Dinosaur
Jr. who have invited the quartet to support them a few times- but this
is the sort of general belligerence the music world should embrace before
it all gets somewhat too stale. Rock on, Tommy.
www.suicidalbirds.com
TEEVO- A lost trail of thought
Teevo are the sort of band whose promo photograph has all four members
standing against a brick wall with their hands in their pockets. But
at least they are finding something funny in said picture. Before it
all got a bit grim. Because this quartet ready to explode from "lovely"
Colchester should not be dismissed as just another bunch of misspent
youths with guitars and nothing better to do.
Though it is true that they are definitely one for what could be the
Nu-slacker generation, sprung from the loins of The Pixies, Sonic Youth,
etc., whilst mixing a healthy dollop of early Nirvana in opening track
"Lost and found" and The Vines in the melodic-then-scary-then-melodic
sulker "Hidden in plain sight" (my two highlights). It is
also evident that this, their third demo, delivers more angst than you
can shake a stick at. Or an ickle angry prepubescent fist. But all jokes
aside, I can finally celebrate that now I have one CD I will actually
not get bored of listening to and promise to use it every morning to
do star-jumps to in my long-johns to keep me warm this winter, continue
to do so until the summer by which time I expect them to be huge.
www.teevo.co.uk
Anna C
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