REVIEW: Birdy, Supernominal Paraphernalia (Cropduster)
- Chris Hill
With nine songs totaling just under 35 minutes, Birdy's debut is lean and lanky, with little superfluous matter to weigh down the crunchy guitar pop which emanates from the speakers. Stephanie Seymour, past member of both the Aquanettas and Psychic Penguin, steps from behind the drumkit and onto center stage with Birdy, assuming lead vocal duties for the first time in her musical career.
That she hasn't before is a surprise -- there's an honest confidence in her voice and a power that plays against lyrics portraying a sometimes lonely, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes uncertain protagonist, at odds with herself and her world. Not to worry, this isn't an angst-ridden, woe-is-me, alternative folk-singer record. The guitars are plugged in and the drums shake, rattle, and roll.
Sunny, ebullient melodies and harmonies pervade, much like the music of her influences: Crowded House/Split Enz, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders. The Bangles come to mind, as well, but that's an automatic touchstone for a band with catchy guitar hooks and a strong female vocal presence. (Backing vocals are provided by Seymour and her male bandmates, though two songs get an assist from an old friend, Aquanettas lead Debby Schwartz ("High as the Sun," "I See Faces").)
For lyrics, Seymour sprinkles physical imagery liberally: "I wear you like my fingerprints," "My brave face is a front line soldier/ My brave face is a storm at sea," "Where am I going and what will I become/Sometimes I'm looking in the mirror/And I don't see anyone." The first-person style of writing gives her songs warmth and personality. The most intimate, "Letter Never Sent," comes off as a sweet mash note to a love stretched by time and distance. "Smell the paper, that's my perfume/I know you like it/You said I smelled like springtime." A nice, palpable description that's sure to trigger a listener's own memories of a favorite scent.
The only song not to seem reflective of her own immediate experience is "You Used to Shine." With lines like "It's the smile you find when you'd rather resign, tell me/How fast does your star fall" and "It's a free country, well that's what they tell me/But they took back your key today" make it seem pertinent to the current U.S. president rather than to a crash and burned friend, though it fits either interpretation.
Birdy is one of several projects being released by the Cropduster label, an independent cooperative effort (see Al Muzer's interview, Consumable Online #180, 6/23/99). The slow country waltz number "One Pretty Mess" is an oddity among the other uptempo pop numbers, as it boxes the ears for attention and benefits from the indie release route. With a chain of music execs to add their input, this might have been left off a major label release as being disruptive to the flow or band image. Another silver lining to find in the current cloudy label turmoil.
More info on Birdy and the Cropduster roster can be found at http://www.cropduster.com
