Nominated by: GK
Music club: Wander to Wozza's
Little Birdy is a new one on me - an Aussie alternative rock band from Perth, of all places. They are built around a singer who has elements of Gwen Stefani about her at times. I like Gwen Stefani!
It's a confusing little record stylistically - starting off with a slice of Americana (so far so GK I thought) but that's it for that genre, as it moves into pop and alt-rock areas, as well as including strings on a few numbers!
Clearly the band have aspirations above their moniker, as the pop side will inevitably out muscle the alt-rock. No surprise GK chose Hairdo as an entry on our Aussie Battlers playlist - just two listens into the album and I was singing 'you don't need no hairdo, you don't need no ciggar - et' around school like a crazy person.
BTW - she has a weird pronunciation at times. I could have sworn she was asking for a reliable bathroom implement in Dark Of Night (don't you want a loofah you can count on?).
Speaking of which - some of the songs like Dark Of Night I found plain annoying - the childlike fairground or music box style music and her 'quiet' voice just ground my gears. Is it me or are Little Birdy taking a leaf out of the book of that great Aussie battler, Leo Sayer, on that song?
But when it works (okay - yes - when it sounds like No Doubt lite) in Summarise, and Hairdo, and when they play the cool and lovely card on Stay Wild, or the poppy Run Run Run (guitars!) I find myself well and truly onboard.
So, a mixed bag - but the pluses outweigh the negatives, for sure. I'm not aware of how this album sits in terms of Little Birdy releases but it feels like they are transitioning towards more pop friendly radio hits on their next release. Which I'd be keen to hear!
