Go Buy the New Birds in Row Album

The title says it all. This will undoubtedly weasel its way onto numerous year-end lists. Also, how does the new Birds in Row album fit into the history of punk?

Preface

Before you even bother continuing to read my stupid thoughts, head over to Deathwish Inc's webstore and pre-order that shit. No matter what version you buy (CD, LP, download) it comes with an instant digital download. If you can afford the internet required to view this blog, you can afford a $6 download. Get this thing onto your computer, hit play, then continue reading.

Are we good? Good.

On You, Me and the Violence

When I first heard "Pilori", I was thinking for sure this would be the second to last song on the album. It starts really heavy, then opens up rather beautifully. It made sense to me at the time that it would re-capture the listener's attention, then fade to some long-winded instrumental closing track.

Nope. "Pilori" is the opener that does a really good job of setting the mood for the whole album.

I think the best compliment I can give You, Me and the Violence is that the singer knows when to shut the fuck up and let the music speak for itself. All too often in hardcore we hear the singer screaming through an album from start to finish. Birds in Row, while they do crush your ear drums with intense screams and rough backing vocals for most of the album, they often add longer gaps between lyrics and will also shut-the-fuck up altogether.

Music is a delicate balance of noise and silence. Too much noise, and what you've created is unlistenable. Too much silence and there's nothing to even listen to.

Birds in Row are constantly playing with silence and tempo -- always speeding things up and slowing them back down. Tightening the gaps, then opening them back up. It really keeps the listener engaged, interested and wondering what will happen next.

On where this fits into history (too soon?)

In an older post I gave what I interpreted as being the history of punk, and where I see it going. I postulated that every 10-years or so there's somewhat of a sonic revolution in punk, and that we're due for our next revolution in 2014.

I call myself TheFool because I liked to make claims, then evaluate where I'm at at a later time. True knowledge comes from learning from mistakes, or so I believe. But I think I'm still on par with my 2014 prediction.

I believe the next punk revolution has its roots in bands like Birds in Row, Touche Amore, La Dispute, Defeater, Heiress and the like. These bands incorporate brutally honest and upfront lyrics written by vocalists who wear their hearts on their sleeves more than any other generation of punk.

Musically, these bands are capable of being brutal and intense at the exact same time they're being heartfelt and open. They add a sense of beauty that hasn't been heard in music for a long, long time taking cues from post-rock and true emo.

The previous generation had to switch between these two ideas: they had a screamy/heavy verse, then had a softly spoken/sung chorus, then a brutal breakdown. This upcoming generation will strip away the cliche breakdowns, or do them in a slightly different way, and seem to be blending the soft and heavy parts rather seamlessly.

Hey you

If you followed my orders, you bought the album before you read this. Or, hopefully you already bought the damn thing before visiting. What do you think of it? Think it will inspire a new generation of punk?