Birdmonster "From the Mountain to the Sea" (FADER) SOUNDS LIKE: Another lukewarm indie-pop act.
Birdmonster's new album "From the Mountain to the Sea" suffers from poor timing - it's a summer album released just before the sweaters start coming out. The album's content ranges from upbeat acoustic songs to low-key lounging sounds, which call out to be listened to poolside on a lazy day or on the way to the beach. Even its title tries to churn up generic memories about those past weeks spent outdoors.
The band's folk influences are clear from the first song and continue unabated for the rest of the album. At the heart of each song is Peter Arcuni's, whose vocals provide the album with much of its emotional power, singing about moving to the suburbs and racing in the Iditarod. The opener, "My Love For You," swirls with a rockabilly twang and Arcuni's lilting lyricism, while "Concrete Lights" and "I Might Have Guessed" try to channel the spirit of Bob Dylan with mixed results.
Unfortunately, the album fades soon thereafter. Despite Arcuni's songwriting talent, the musical arrangements never seem up to the task of supporting him, leaving the vocals to flounder. What's left are forgettable riffs that never make much of an impact.
The band seems to be trying to stretch its grasp over a range of music, never quite getting a grip on any single genre, just sampling a bit of this and that. The exception might be "Residue," a cascading song that shows a lot of promise. But the rest of the album holds back these few good excursions.
Birdmonster plays with The Rumble Strips at the Black Cat on Oct. 5.
- MICHAEL RICHARDSON
