“Piled up clothes of those we lost, frail barricades for frail fates.”
The largely anonymous and hard to pin down Birds in Row return once again. Every few years, the band comes out of hiding and into somewhat-hiding, most recently in 2018 with the excellent We Already Lost The World. With a renewed emphasis on melody, it proved to be a serious contender that year in an otherwise grossly crowded field. They don’t miss, and I’ll come right out and say it – Gris Klein proves to be no exception. Rooted primarily in hardcore, the album shows an affinity to wander between adjacent genres in typical fashion.
A burden is a burden to the burdened.
They’d sell the limbless a course on how to sink with elegancy.
I took it back to the street, bought whatever they had,
Thought I should write down my dreams.
Opener “Water Wings” has the challenge of living up to 2018’s “We Count So We Don’t Have To Listen”. Fortunately, first tracks are among Birds in Row‘s strong points. Immediately reminiscent of something like Defeater, it swings with a blacker edge in comparison. Certainly fast-paced and heavy out of the gates, with some of the most aggressive material on the album overall to start off. Naturally, it breaks off into more atmospheric material at its mid-section, demonstrating the band’s range, though a motif on the album is that the transitions can be a bit rough and abrupt, though with this style that’s more of a feature than a bug. Even so, it sounds like a natural opener, especially for this album.
How ridiculous we look, here, clapping our hands as the waters rise,
Piled up clothes of those we lost, frail barricades for frail fates,
They are candies inside the jaws sculpted on godly waves.
Next single and track four “Noah” does demonstrate the weakness of some of the album’s clean vocals. Straightaway awkward, and containing some puzzling lines that one can surely chalk up to an ESL problem. However, as the track progresses, the instrumentation and vocals pick up urgency, putting Gris Klein in more comfortable territory and further away from what probably is the album’s low point. The last four-odd minutes make for a proper work of their own, and especially gets compelling with the increasing desperation behind every utterance of “should have taken the money.” It also demonstrates some post-rock sensibilities in the latter half, which come across stylishly and effectively.
They dance and they’ll never stop,
We’ll live of all the things we don’t know, we ignore,
The angels of abandon, they’ll be waiting some more.
“Cathedrals” sounds like one of the more straight punk selections of the album. Quick from the jump, it strikes furiously at the listener with reckless abandon. The single selection here, through grouped largely at the first half of the album, does adequately to display the variety one expects out of the band. Even a more straightforward number like this one accomplishes more in a few short minutes than expected.
The other single “Nympheas” bears worth mentioning as less of a throat-punch but instead more of a general showcase of styles. Primarily rooted in post-hardcore, it’s still a veritable blitz, but this time with a bit more air to it. “Rodin” might be the highlight of the non-singles, with a noise rock edge standing out on an already tight album. Really, the final trio including “Winter, Yet” and “Secession” help to close the album out on a serious high note.
To this end, Birds in Row hit their apparent goals with Gris Klein. Undoubtedly, they are a band hard to compare with even themselves, maintaining a true left-field sound, so to say whether this is better or worse than the 2018 effort may prove to be impossible. Instead, it carves out a lane of its own, and with moments of awkwardness that add up to part of the charm. That might prove difficult for a new listening to get accustomed to, but long time consumers should appreciate this package.
8/10
Birds in Row – Gris Klein comes out this Friday, October 14 via Red Creek Recordings and can be pre-ordered here.