When writing blog posts, there are certain bands that - although you enjoy to listen to - you are never really sure if they will be appropriately appreciated by the public or even the wider music community. But then there are other bands that you immediately sense are destined for wide adoration after listening to just a few of their tracks.
Birthdays are one of those bands whose hype is easily understood, and most of the reason the hype is so easily understood in all honesty is the one track Howolding Girls (which you may have heard or read of an earlier version, which was called Procreating Flower Bug). As much of a boring cliché it is, it’s one of those songs that really is gripping from the start – opening with vibrant looping synth sounds and bursting into life with celebratory and chant-like distorted vocals and drumming that switches from dance-y bass-snare to tribal tom rolls. It’s a bit like eating sour flavoured Skittles for the first time; the intense flavour forcing your face to do all sorts of unexplained weird shit.
As far as looping experimental psych pop goes, Boston-based Sam (who makes up one-man-band Birthdays, and is also apparently vegan, which makes him cool even without the great music) aren’t a one song pony. I’m Keeping Some Of Mine For Me is a slow-paced droning take on the Animal Collective sound, yet still excites and brims with brilliance. Part That Grows has a country/folk-y Conor Oberst feel to it yet through an underlying pulsing drum beat and rattle shakes, unusual strums, and some “ooh”-s chucked in for good measure, it manages to not feel out of place alongside his other work.
Pretty darn exciting stuff. Listen and download below, and find more on
HypeMachine.
Birthdays - Howolding Girls
Birthdays - Software
Birthdays - I'm Keeping Some Of Mine For Me
