There
is a bit of keyboard work on the Birds In The Airport EP How's It Going To
End? that reminded me of Reggie and the Full Effect. My first thought was
that James Dewees pulls from so many different genres and styles that this was
a completely unhelpful comparison, but that may not be the case.
Like
Dewees, Tom Breyfogle is a multi-instrumentalist who supports many other acts
while also creating his own music. Watching a video of Breyfogle recording
"The Sky Is Falling Down" you get a good sense of how he could be
helpful to many bands in a variety of ways. Listening to the EP, you get a
further sense of his versatility.
I
first checked out Birds In The Airport on the recommendation of Third Eye
Blind's Alex Kopp, though at the time only "Under The Mushroom Cloud"
was available. It was brilliant.
Musically
there are echoes of the '60s and sock hops in it - I can imagine Peter Noone covering
it - but instead of surfing the theme is nuclear war. However, there still is dancing
and a relationship, and even if it was mainly folk music that referenced cold
war fears, they were a part of that time period.
Between
the title, those two tracks and "The End", a dramatic instrumental
piece, I started thinking that it was a concept EP all about the end of the
world, except for the other two tracks.
"Little
Black Dresses" and "Quiet On The Set" are not overtly about
global destruction, but there is an alienation to them that doesn't exactly turn
an apocalyptic theme on its head. Perhaps enough coldness before the bomb lets
you feel optimistic about the bomb, at least if you have a friend.
Maybe
sometimes you just need your dog.
Musically and intellectually, there are good things here.
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