Labels: Fat Wreck Chords
Review by: Alex Deller
While I thought Night Birds were fab live and have enjoyed the stuff of theirs I’ve heard, they’re not a band I’ve followed intently. I dug ‘The Other Side Of Darkness’ and all, but it was heading towards slightly glossier territory and I found myself preferring the demo version of ‘Can’t Get Clean’ to the album cut, which about sums things up. This four-tracker follows in similar fashion, with the band sounding bigger, bolder and a dab cleaner round the edges. Maybe it’s just the label skewing my senses but I feel there’s a whiff of NOFX and Bad Religion to things at the expense of their older DKs / Agent Orange vibe, and while the manic Davie Allan surf damage is still skulking ’round the scene it’s kept in check like a hoodlum who’s forced to wear an ankle monitor. The songs themselves are solid if a little unadventurous, one a tad too long, one with a refrain reminiscent of a famous Chaz and Dave number and one a throwaway instrumental(ish) thing that kinda passes me by. They’re not abhorrent by any stretch – just a bit harrumph – and while I don’t imagine there’s much life to this 7″ for me beyond this review it’s definitely not enough to stop me checking ’em out again when they crash land upon these shores in August.