Viborate
THE CATBIRDS
Iddy Biddy Records
Viborate
4 tracks
This is a teaser EP intended as a prelude to a full-length release. Drum and bass come from Rikki Bates and Chandler Travis (Incredible Casuals), with Steve Wood (the Freeze) on guitar and Dinty Child (Session Americana) on guitar and mandocello. The first tune sets the tone: it’s a miasmically pounding and vocally laconic aggressive guitar number. The third song is a bit of a deliberately sloppy genre spoof, utterly delightful for people who secretly laugh at showboating bar bands but otherwise of doubtful utilty. The final song, “I Viborate,” takes the “Great Balls of Fire” vibe and lards it up with twangy walls of problematic clatter, almost as if to defy the spirit of the streamlined genre it is attempting to emulate. What makes this EP thoroughly worthwhile is the second song, “Stoned,” which has the makings of some kind of bizarro-world hit ala Arthur Lee’s “7 and 7 Is,” with its spacy guitar overlay and utterly kickass drums and, best of all, annihilating vocal hooks and crunchy rhythm guitar. It’s brilliant.Period. (Francis DiMenno)