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DirtbirdHigh Water Dover Army Of Nerds/Independent Victorian based Dirtbird comprises of David M Lewis (co-founding member of Adelaide folk/punksters The Bedridden) and Razz Mussen and Alex Miller (later affiliates of said band), along with Clay Ravin on a conventional drum kit. It's the latter element, along with the use of electric guitars, that has added a differentiating twist to what otherwise could well be seen as another Bedridden release; not that that'd be a bad thing, especially given that there's the more than welcome guest spot by original Bedridden cello player Lillybub. While Ravin's straight and steady stick work keep the songs tightly in check, it's Lillybub's gorgeously smooth cello lines that provide an underlying lustre. As for the rest of the instruments, vocals included, they're not so much recklessly thrown about as much as they're haphazardly captured in the same honest, ragged manner in which they originated in the player's heads. In A Moment Of A Hundred Things opens the CD in fine style with Mussen's thin, screechy wail, followed by The Boat That Wasn't There which highlights Lewis' nasal and oft-misguided Neil Young-like high register: an unusual ploy that somehow always manages to land his phrasing somewhere in the approximate right key. Dirtbird balance 'twixt the strange and the serious on Fall and Rosie, with Cold War (a long time live staple written by Matt Hetherington) also demonstrating how ambitiously quasi-orchestral they can become. Of the album's two instrumentals - the bluesy Mariana Trench and rocking Elizabeth Lee - the former is as intriguing as it is clumsy and the latter is as cracking and subliminally dark as anything early Black Sabbath has ever come up with. Combine all that with what showcases a collection of Lewis' most political and personal lyrics to date (The Chicken And The Fox aside) and 'High Water Dover' adds up to an album that deserves many a considered listen.  |
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