CD Review
Death Birds
Risen Phoenix Records
Originality. Instrument command. Song-writing ability. Primal prurpose. Add a heavy dose of spiritual delving in angst worthy of Schopenhaur’s existential realm, and you’ve just dialed into the perfect ingredients for the perfect cerebral listening experience. And it is right here with this debut release. Yet another testament that Portland is a veritable showcase for talent.
I loath to hear people rave on about music by artists for continual mediocre efforts. Even less funny is they often get famous for it. Unfortunately american society still defines a “hit” as a commercially viable 3-4 minute song, while we continue to marginalize astounding musical feats and allow them to be locally shelved. It takes time to make a great piece of music, and the quality and weight from a band of this caliber should be experienced right up close and personal. The talent ratio is glaringly apparent even to the slightly steeped listener. Amanda Kelly writes with an indelible conviction from her muse- It is refreshing to listen to her deliver with such a keen and graceful brevity. It may also come from her educational background in music. “I studied jazz in music school, but most of what I’ve learned I have studied on my own or learned from great players including latin jazz, arabic, folk and blues, alternate tunings and heavy metal”. Besides playing and teaching guitar, Kelly also teaches voice, mandolin and bass guitar and keyboards.
Not a ‘professional sounding’ voice you say? The stylizing of purpose and emotion is never underestimated in this reporter’s corner...by the grace of the songbird , so flies the crow. Kelly’s purpose in delivering a message is a quiet and deafening beauty opposite the heavy of the Guitars, synth and occasional indian instrumentation. Amanda has a minimalist approach which carries both a philosophical as well as primal edge that actually means something. Let me tell you, this ENTIRE CD seethes with talent, song-writing skill, and emotive quality, and the idea of any searchingly respective music fan missing this is a bitter shame.
Like Zeppelin? Dig Link Wray? How about Patti Smith, Sinead O’Connor, and Jim Morrison? Factor in Ravi Shankar, Jonas Hellborg and Dead Can Dance, and you might be getting it. I’m thinking about the kids Amanda teaches music to and wondering if she introduces her material to them. I think they’d teeter somewhere between a cataleptic hover and School of Rock windmilling.
Vultures starts the seven song compilation, definitely setting the tone for the rest of the disc. It is mesmerizing, expansive and eerily Floydian. The melody of the chorus lofty and angelic, poising a simple and transcendental delivery. The keyboard lines trickle like water running over a smooth stone. Kelly’s lyrics are equally matched by the instrumental tones; soft and sweet one minute, then staccato hammering of smashing Guitar completely realized with a rapture-like delivery. Percussionist Liam Mcnamara throbs with a Bonham-like force. Keyboardist Charlie Gallipeau provides spacey keyboard and moog support which lends an expansive import to the songs.
Each song seems to segue to the next which connects them in as a sort of spiritual time-line. “Away” testifies that this band must dream quite a bit- they come off like a sleepy fog one moment, then as excitable as a sunlit wave crashing ashore the next. Think Chris Isaac on guitar, but guided by David Gilmore’s hand.
“It’s impossible for me to separate concepts from the senses...visual to auditory to emotional.” This is not a surprise, but even more fascinating, as is the repertois of songs which solidly testify to her reflections.
Though every friggin’ inch of this recording is important to hear, Darkness Is Light is my pick of the entire CD; This is like the lost track from Page and Plant’s “Unledded” but with Patti Smith on vocals. it is original in the sense that the aforementioned artists here are dutifully borrowing from Indian raga and slight lydian influences. while lending their respective hands to western blues rhythms. Equally true for HOB, Kelly has no trouble convincing the listener of her purpose, “Darkness is light/ and darkness is my hearts design/ I was born ages ago/ but I was burning long before”. the reverb of her Epiphone tells the rest of the story.
Amanda’s voice boasts a stronger treatment for the short but sweet “You Give Yourself Away”. The band is especially succinct and driven during this song. They fill up the void and rock this number very solidly- I wished for it to continue and rock steady for about a half hour or so. “Death birds In Trees” sounds a bit like a reprise of the first track but given a slight Morocco-Turbanesque twist. She is quite masterful at changing moods in a heartbeat and delivers near masterful transitions. This is a woman truly in possession of her passion and emotions.
“I ordered some traditional Arabic/Turkish Cd’s online which got me on some sort of a ‘list’ at the Department of Homeland Security; sometimes they open my mail and stamp their logo on it, then send it back to the seller. Pretty hilarious”, Kelly states. It’s no surprise they’d be monitoring her, being a talented, freethinking artist and all. Into The Sun has a moroccan feel to it, makes me think of some great recordings of the Master Players of JuJouka - no doubt an influence hearing them blend african rhythms with the variance of eclectic instrumentation the group likes to employs. The Yardbirds used to delve into areas of unique eastern intrumentation. The turkish Saz is an interesting instrument that has similarities to the guitar, but is capable of odd quarter tunings. When plugged into western amplification, the droning effects are downright spectacular. “I was inspired by Liam to get one and play it, There are double courses of strings and quarter tone frets that are moveable. I plug it in to a Marshall half-stack through effects pedals”. Mix with a Zeppelin heaviness and you’ve got the ingredients for a spiritual awakening.
Finally, Dragonfly Machines takes a Pulp Fiction scene, throws it in a spaghetti western, only with a surfy- organic feel. I’m reminded of the lost theme song to the Epic film series called” Lexx”, the dragonfly spaceship made out of all-organic material. It had a personality, and flew around attempting to exert musical sounds out in the outskirts of the universe...
And hey, isn’t that where great music really comes from?
You can find this superb recording at: houseofbadger.com, Music Millennium, Cdbaby and itunes.
House Of Badger will play the Doug Fir on Nov. 18th
Also check out Amanda Kelly’s website at: abstractmachines.net