I Might Have Guessed (Mean Version) – Birdmonster
Birdmonster, the band with the funny name who have produced two very good albums in the last couple years, are back again. This time it’s an 8 song expanded EP or mini LP or whatever you want to call it. It’s called Blood Memory and offers precisely what we’ve come to expect from these guys.
Big guitars, drumming that will rattle your house, and an easy attitude. It opens with a souped up remake of “I Might Have Guessed” from their last record. It’s a substantial improvement. One of my only issues with this band is their tendency to include a couple slow/soft songs every record. It’s not a bad idea per se–a little bit of variety in your sound is hardly a bad thing–but it just so rarely seems to work for them. This is a band who excels when they shed their restraints. The go big or go home attitude is already tempered by their ability to include endless amoutns of soul in passion in these songs that shake you to the core.
That vitality just doesn’t seem to come through on their slower stuff. So it’s wonderful to hear the potential in “I Might Have Guessed” actually borne out.
Slightly contradicting what I’ve just said, the record also includes a remake of “The Iditarod” which may have been my favorite track on the last album. This time a big, brash track is toned down and given the acoustic treatment–and while I prefer the original, getting to hear it this way reveals a greater depth. Beneath the passion, now we can see the bruises.
Of the new tracks, the clear highlight is “Yuma” – which adds another strong entry to the pantheon of songs about the desperate need to just get out of a small town and on the road. It rocks and rolls along with the best of their stuff.
Elsewhere, “Scatter Your Words” is a slow builder, offering a smooth palliative to the frenetic pace of some of their other stuff, and working its way up to a big finish. “Day to Day” takes somewhat the same path, without quite making it work as well. Still, about halfway through you really get a sense of the tight interplay between the guitars, drums, and the touches of piano.
Blood Memory is due out on September 22.