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Apr 16, 2013
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Birds of Chicago
:: October 1, 2012 :: by Jess Rehac
Birds of Chicago, according to their website, isn’t just a band – it’s a collective. Its main players may be JT Nero and Allison Russell, but they have a twelve-piece band standing behind them as well, bulking up their vocals and acoustic guitars with pianos, accordions, percussion, trumpets, and saxophones. Nero and Russell have been accused of being “the most compelling new voices to the American roots movement”, and after a few minutes of listening to their new, self-titled album, it’s not hard to see why..
“Birds of Chicago” is 53 minutes of classic American roots sound; gentle vocals glide effortlessly
overinstrumentals that are sometimes upbeat and funky and sometimes more subdued, each complimenting the mood of the story being told and never taking away or overpowering Nero or Russell. In “Trampoline”, the two main members of Birds of Chicago work together to drive the song, sometimes taking the lead and often supporting the other with harmonizing vocals. Later in the album Russell slows it down for “Before She Goes”, quiet enough to fall asleep to and yet powerful enough to keep you up at night. The change in pace and mood in the album is incredibly balanced, at times feeling light-hearted enough to dance to and others making you slow down to think; it’s an album that reminds you how powerful artists in the American roots genre can be, and how brilliantly music can sound when talented people are behind it.
CHECK OUT "Trampoline" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcPkUjoL-wE