Speaking of weather, the birds in it today are going to have a piece of work time. What do the animals of the air do when it's obviously the freaking apocalypse all around them? When the world is freezing over and their wings are frozen shut, so they do what 7inches does and stay at home to hunker down with some tiny records. Birds in Weather, is introducing themselves with this single, a very classy touch from the trio in Red Hook who's frontman, Hans Viets also painted that giant painting on the sleeve, possibly in his backyard out there by the Ikea.
A light touch on electric opens "If I Were You" and Hans Viets sets out a laid back pop rock tone for his lower end quivering vocal that sounds a lot like Spencer Krug's Moonface and not unlike him in composition either, this '60s garage sound manages a lot of stumbling epic starts and stops that ends up opening into a harder sound. A theremin or choir of voices works behind this live PA re-mic'd vocal of jittery spoken word in the realm of David Byrne or even Bowie picking up steam every time it comes back, the guitar multiplying and losing itself. Just unassuming and deceptively catchy like Clap Your Hands with a throwback garage sound of melodic psych, very vague references that sort of point to where this is going but there's not a lot to compare this to...Phil and the Osophers transplanted thirty years previously and produced by Paul Messis maybe? The track ends with birds and a truck driving into oblivion.
B-Side "Dancing" uses weird ominous synth tones, plenty of sampling; footsteps, panning a crowd back across channels, walking into a party with a couple of lone jangle chords start playing. Hans sets up a crooning tone with their shuffle rhythm of slow deliberate picking. You woud just chalk this up to a tender sort of lovesong if it wasn't piled with weird instrumentation, a single triangle strike or echo'd laughing from the next apartment over. What always seems to be launched in an easy trajectory seems to completely change with these guys. Let alone how you execute this kind of weird complexity live? The layered acoustic guitars? There's just three members listed on the sleeve here. It manages to get as epic as the A-Side with a real white collar rough rock sound that quickly disappears, they don't ever show their hand for long. If there's a melody you're into you better grab onto it, chances are they've already moved on, the sign of a band not holding back the good stuff.
An unassuming single with a lot of serious talent to keep coming back to, pressed on light grey vinyl with lyric insert from their bandcamp page.
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