Bluebird

The bird is a symbol of freedom. From "Black Bird" to "Free Bird," winged things have always been associated with autonomy and escape, and the appropriately named Los Angeles power-psych-punk band, Bluebird is an embodiment of artistic freedom.

Bluebird's music and aesthetics aren't easy to define or explain. In the way that Black Sabbath or even Queens of the Stone Age deftly blend heavy guitar riffing with shimmering vocal melodies, Bluebird makes catchy pop songs driven by heavy layers of guitars, that could also just as easily be outtakes from Swervedriver or Jane's Addiction. And, like Perry Farrell's former freak-flag-fliers, Bluebird is comprised of such divergent personalities that any song - from its most traditionally structured rock tune, to its freeform droning jams - seems to be tugging in a variety ofdirections all at once. This friction often results in some of the most psych-damaged ingenuity this side of the earliest Meat Puppets mutant punk-country. The charismatic and downright loveable characters in the band bring the passion and intensity to Bluebird's music, and its talented musicians prove that anything is possible with the proper alchemy of magic, will and intuition.

At first listen to Hot Blood, the band's riff-rock may sound similar to Wool, QOTSA or even early Foo Fighters. However, the guitar textures and tasteful "jams" are far more reminiscent of 60's psychedelia, 70's warped skronk, and the MC5's throttled power-riff breakdowns (in fact, former MC5 guitar god, Wayne Kramer makes a guest appearance on the track, "Beautiful Believer"). Bluebird redefine the freejazz-in-rock thing by throwing the noodling out the window and actually having a capacity for working off of one another to build effective riffs and crescendos which bear some similarities to Drive Like Jehu's patchwork guitar strata. Perhaps the band's guiding force is the innate connections between brothers, Jim and Bryan Lee Brown (bass and drums, respectively) who have played together since elementary school days. But, the melodic hooks of vocalist Sam Velde and the thick guitar layers paved by Barry Thomas and Paul Fig (ex-Amen) add further glue to this bond. Composed of five musicians who each contribute a vital energy to every detail of their music, Bluebird's masterful balance of pop sensibility and sonic battery is compulsory listening.

Bluebird's live stage presence is equally impressive in its strangely symbiotic balance between members. On one side of the stage, there's Jim, flopping his hair, dancing and bashing his bass, while Barry, stone still, stands like a Medieval warrior going to battle. Across the stage, Paul hammers at his guitar, while Sam and Bryan solidify the center. The band appears transfixed in a stoic intensity similar to the Laughing Hyenas or Black Flag. It's a monolithic presence, from the way that all the equipment has "Blue Bird - Los Angeles" stenciled on it, to the band's late-80s SST bands' type of "f*ck it" attitude, for just going all out.

-Dave Clifford

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