A Lot Like Birds - Conversation Piece
Rating
RIYL
Dance Gavin DanceThe Number Twelve Looks Like You
Closure in Moscow
Release Date
10/11/2011
Label
Doghouse RecordsTracklist
1. Orange Time Machines Care2. Think Dirty Out Loud
3. Vanity’s Fair
4. Properties of Friction
5. Truly Random Code
6. Abbr.
7. The Blowtorch is Applied to the Sugar
8. A Satire of a Satire of a Satire is Tiring
9. Sesame Street is No Place for Me
10. Tantrum
11. What Didn’t Kill Me Just Got Stronger
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Hailing from Sacramento, California, A Lot Like Birds is a post-hardcore band with progressive sentiments and a sound unlike the label typically implies. Featuring ex-Dance Gavin Dance vocalist Kurt Travis and following a debut record entitled Plan B, Conversation Piece features a cohesive line-up and a more vocally driven performance, unlike the former. The energetic six piece group paints unconventional, yet familiar, musical techniques on a recognizable backdrop and the output is a coherent album not found often among groups of this sort.
Shouts not unlike The Number Twelve Looks Like You, swirling vocals reminiscent of small indie duos, and fantastically layered guitars make up the first track of the album, signaling the listener to keep on in hopes of more excellently paced and unique tunes. “Think Dirty Out Loud” continued to whet my appetite for a Number Twelve-tinged performance and fleeting screeched vocals, reeling me in even more with every surprising measure. “Vanity’s Far” is where the Closure in Moscow comparisons start, echoing not only their grasp on this genre but imitating their Mars Volta impression as well. I should note that the comparisons don’t indicate any disdain; A Lot Like Birds takes the myriad of influences and expertly allows them into their own palette. There is a difference between imitation and influence, and the group makes it even wider.
The post-hardcore supergroup undertones of the band make for a solid set of opening tracks, but they really open up after track three. “Properties of Fiction” and “Truly Random Code” are both incredibly well written songs that saunter into brooding moments of delay and build with extreme care until their climaxes. Every track following is more of the same stellar songwriting and masterful pacing that is so surprising to hear from a band this young. “Tantrum” elaborates on the more drawn out sections of tracks four and five, running at seven minutes and leading into the album’s closer. The album ends no different from any other portion--powerful and frenzied, yet controlled down to the last pitch.
Clocking in at 50 minutes, Conversation Piece is lengthy for an album of its kind, yet loses no steam from beginning to end. Its most impressive feat is that it’s an attention keeper; there is no boredom to be found here. Wonderful songwriting, a unique blend of sounds, and a refreshing dose of post-hardcore make Conversation Piece one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. There isn’t much else I can say other than to listen to it. You won’t regret it.
--Cody Rogers
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
Is this a late April Fools joke?
Yeah Bill, you're right.
Lehigh Valley, PA
Sarcasm?
Minnesota
Yeah... ummm... this is pretty insane for sure, but a good chunk of the album borders on unlistenable, while the rest of it is decent with flashes of greatness. I don't know if it's necessarily "good" or not...
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Lehigh Valley, PA
The vocals were way too 2004 for me.
Charlotte, NC
weirt, just weirt.
"There must be more to this"
follow me, like me:
I honestly don't really get what's hard to understand about this album.
Lehigh Valley, PA
I really don't get what's hard to understand about me saying I don't like it ? It's too... I don't know, just too blah.
Yeah, that's fine really. but I guess I don't get how it's "weird" or "unlistenable". It's a pretty slick album full of forward thinking ideas, especially for post-hardcore.
Fishers, Indiana
This album's little too avant-garde for a normal kick-back sort of listen, but I think it's a pretty incredible album with a lot of depth. The music's insane, but it's pretty tough to get past all the vocal fuckery.
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London, UK
It is chaotic and noisy but I think it holds together really well and has plenty of moments that are brilliant. Overall I preferred the feel of their debut though.
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San Borja, Lima, Perú
I've listened to this a couple of times and I have to agree with you decoy users. I find this album kinda messy and incredibly DGD oriented, that part feels a little forced too. The guys sound like they can play their instruments/sing extremely well so I guess it's the hype of the youngsters to show themselves, which seems pretty healthy if you ask me.
Nonetheless, I suppose they'll find a confortable form to place their music, and that requires some time. For me this sounds promising instead of the musically genious piece of art that people write about in several blogs.