my life as a bird - Willow

 

It is easy think that San Jose's Mike Keller is a new revelation with my life as a bird's third album following 6 months after the second. You can read the review of The Cabana here. But although the three albums have come in just over a year, the recording career stretches back 15 years.

At its heart this 90s Slacker Rock, sort of what followed Weezer's breakthrough. But there is far more than that here with an ability to stretch into Power Pop and Indie Rock. The songs are able to start as one thing and step into another part way through.

For example, Faded Memories Of Loved Ones starts like Classic Pop Rock before launching into something much noisier. The Guitar solo is extraordinarily great and that Guitar work is something that marks Keller out, he can certainly play.

There is even a short Acoustic, almost Americana example of variation in Imaginary Forest and that low key heartfelt style continues on the closer, Little One, the intro being so delicate, but you know that that song is gonna breakout into something massive and it does with a 70s style big melodic solo.

There are always gonna be Weezer reminders, the best example here is It Would Be Easy. There is also top notch Power Pop with Giving Misery and there is also the bombast of Wheel's Don't Roll. There is a touch of you know what you are gonna get, but in truth, that is exactly what you want.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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My Life As A Bird - The Cabana

Here we celebrate the new and under appreciated and San Jose's Mike Keller fits both camps. His solo project, My Life As A Bird, reaches its second album, hot on the heels of last year's debut album, Sunflower. It is right up our street, in fact it probably lives next door.

Get ready for Guitar Pop of the highest order. It is a Guitar fest of the highest order covering Power Pop, Slacker Pop, Pop Punk and much more. There are big hints of Weezer, but also big crunches. The solos take on epic proportions, at times sounding noisier Not Lame.

The riffs are completely hypnotic and veer into Classic Rock, UK Glam and encompass the likes of Teenage Fanclub and the noisier brand of Power Pop that we all currently adore. There is such a shake yer fist feel to proceedings, but an admiration of the sheer hypnotism of the guitar.

It doesn't fit one area, but encompasses all. The Pop Punk is incredibly melodic, none of that robotic vocal nonsense. It also treads into Emo with not a pair of half pants in sight. I keep coming back to the earlier days of Weezer as a pointer.

I suppose Slacker Rock is really the easiest description, but there is so much more here than that. Towards the end the album surprisingly gets slower. Sadie is built around a mesmerising riff and Who? closes things with a stripped down acoustic delicate feel until it explodes. 

I've deliberately not described other songs to encourage you to delve in to the whole thing. The Cabana is 31 minutes that will underline the glory of Guitar Pop. If you wanted to know where our heart is, it is probably here. What a great album!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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