Them Bird Things | Wildlike Wonder

Opening with Northern Curve, which resonates to bird song and a chiming string, which foretells of trouble ahead, as the vocal provides a narrative. I found myself drifting in to a harbour, somehow strewn with danger.

Raised in Bangor, takes the LP up a notch in tempo as the band explore bluegrass, snatching me from my reverie. It is intriguing, to me Bangor is of Welsh tonation, here the Bangor is without doubt in deepest Maine USA, with its annual folk festival.

We remain safely ensconced in Americana as Silver Oldsmobile comes up. Superb lyric , capturing the sentiment and a collaboration in full swing, with a swing-blues track,  reminiscent of  Johnny Cash. This is to me the tour de force on the album. Timmo Vikkula precise on the guitar and Artuu Tolonen growling on the harmonica with Salla Day resplendent on vocal.

Marie heads back to deeper territory, with a pared back track, where the vocal is left to make or break, exposed to hitting the notes precisely.

Marionette continues the sentiment of suicide and sorrow, with a flip to beats which are rooted in Sami influences. I can imagine myself sitting on an ice-flow watching the land disappear over the darkening horizon. A powerful lyric and superb composition makes this a track which demands time and space.

Birmingham was written 50 years ago. Laden with guitar chords and floating drums, the track is a fresh as the day Mike Brassard laid pen to paper, Them Bird Things, whisk the listener to the Indian Sub-continent.

Underground suddenly hits my ears and here I am in Berlin in the ’70s. On superficial listening this is a ‘pop’ ballad, but as is typical of the collaboration, offers far more when given room to breathe.

Sliding back to the US of A, Once I found a Snake, again releases the vocal. Them Bird Things deserve far more air time than they secure, there is more to the world of music than America and the UK, hey take a listen to Finnish Music. This track exemplifies why the Indie Bands Blog exists. I could draw many comparisons to well known Billboard and top 20 artists here, but to my ears this collaboration is far ahead of the pack.

I enjoy hearing a finger slide down an acoustic guitar, so why wouldn’t I like White Lipstick. Again the collaboration put themselves out to be hung and hands are raised to listen to more.

East Colorado Plain merges Rhajastani influences with rock, over-laid with distinctive vocal that is Salla Day.

No Love to Give You is a track which I enjoy for its absolute clarity. Whilst Them Bird Things prune back the frippery with this release Wildlike Wonder, the album is strewn with intricate timing and instrumentation, which is demonstrated to great effect on this track. Pared back, yet intricate – is that a musical genre?

Concluding with Georgia Mountain, spins back to high-plains Americana and a listener looking forward to the next chapter, as many of the themes of the album are drawn together.

Wildlike Wonder available on * would be a great addition to the playlist for someone looking for superb musicianship combined with expert composition.

Thanks Will Shade, for sending this through to me, I for one hope it isn’t another year for the next LP.

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Them Bird Things Photo by Pirita Särmä

Salla loved the songs written by Steve and Mike and formed a band which intended to perform from the hundreds of unreleased songs the pair had written since the 1960′s. The song writers were smitten with Them Bird Things and started to write specifically for the band.

The story of Them Bird Things makes a fascinating read in itself and well worth exploring on the bands website.

The distinctive voice of Salla Day leads the band on a tour of Americana. With so many talented musicians and writers involved in the project, it would be easy to become lazy. But Them Bird Things are producing their distinctive out-put through hard graft and as a result the songs are tight, yet have the sound of spontaneity which is absolutely essential as influences of 60′s beat and folk-rock rise to the surface.

They easily traverse the bridges of their diverse out-put with superb acoustic guitar being replaced with rockabilly beats from one track to the next. The echoing guitar reminds me of The Shadows, the whole of Them Bird Things is far more than the sum of their individual parts.

Them Bird Things: I Can See Russia From Here

Them Bird Things | MySpace Music Videos

Their recently released album Fly,Them Bird Things, Fly! is available on *.

Currently working on a second album due for release in summer 2010, Them Bird Things are set for greater success.

Thanks to Will Shade for spending time answering my questions. Follow the link for more on the indie bands blog about Them Bird Things.

*purchases made through the link will result in indie bands blog receiving a commission.