Birdmonster
From The Mountains
To The Sea
Fader
By Mike Randall
The only analogy I can think of to describe the transition from Birdmonster’s debut, No Midnight, to their second full-length, From the Mountains to the Sea, would be driving a treacherous mountain road during a hailstorm and then entering the tranquility of a tunnel. The abrasive freak-outs from No Midnight have been replaced by a more organic approach to both subject and sound, resulting in tighter, more melodic and richly crafted songs. More folk-based than anything else, Birdmonster’s sound is so comfortable and confident this time out you get the sense it’s the record they were aiming for all along.
With Mountains, Birdmonster is much more in control, following a straightforward path through mostly acoustic-based numbers that are supported with warm electric guitar and keyboard textures, and the occasional banjo and mandolin. Frontman Peter Arcuni demonstrates an enormous expansion of his vocal range, divulging observational stories of new and old love he either wants to stay or to go. No matter which way the tale unfolds, he comes across as a more likable Ryan Adams, slipping his gravelly voice to a heartfelt falsetto on songs like “Lost At Sea,” effortlessly delivering country-fried choruses and poignant lyrics such as “You don’t know me from anyone / You don’t know from where or which I came.” The comparison to Adams, more specifically to the pop-folk Gold era, holds especially true on the charging boogie of “Greenland Sound”, the driving and irresistibly catchy “The Iditarod”, and the Stones-y pedal-to-the-floor rock of “New Country”, which has Arcuni bordering on “Like A Rolling Stone” enunciation.
As accessible as Mountains may be next to its predecessor, it’s also dripping with emotion the first one hid behind its ragged edges and brute force. The distance between No Midnight and tracks like the slow country-soul of “Our Ashes” or “The Only One” is immeasurable. On the latter track, the band strums heartfelt folk as Arcuni reveals flashbacks of a youthful crush, singing “Lately it seems the memories are just dreams.” They continue to explore different folk-rooted elements throughout, whether the gentle “Concrete Lights” or the country-tinged gem “I Might Have Guessed,” in which Arcuni remorsefully reveals, “I will return the things I stole from your heart.”
Perhaps no track better exemplifies From the Mountains to the Sea than “Residue,” which drifts along sleepily before being propelled into a truly impassioned second half. Birdmonster has already shown their range over the course of two records, and “Residue” is able to connect two poles that didn’t seem to previously exist in the band’s repertoire. Given the sudden twist in direction, Arcuni and company might not be traversing the confines of this tunnel for long, but they’ve locked in on a sound that clearly works for them.
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