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Winter has proven to be interesting for these west coast boys.....
Panic Bird review: Urban Pollution
Written By: Sam Wharton
Rating: 9.0
You remember that band you were in in high school – all sloppy naivete, uncool earnestness, & bad mixing? Halophile is that band refined into its purest form, that is to say the leaden weight of inexperience, pretension, & ambition transmuted into golden rush of near-perfect indie songwriting. Their recent relocation to Louisville, after stops in Seattle & NYC, appropriately signals such alchemical tendencies: Panic Bird betrays a slew of influences – not least among them post-punk demigods Slint – but manages to tiptoe along a path that avoids the flattery side of the imitation equation.
As the delicate, slippery, bent guitar intro to “Tundra Skies” immediately proves, the line of influence extends far beyond the distinct sound of Halophile’s adopted hometown: this lead track evokes a slightly countrified Bedhead, a sound which extends to the next song, “Ancient Dogs in Transit,” which adds a strained, crunchy yell during the chorus, reminiscent of such Midwest emo acts as the Anniversary. The situation is further muddied by shades of the minimalist mystery of Three Mile Pilot, especially on “Desert Breath” & “Sedatives.”
Often the biggest hurdles for bands like Halophile are to not lose themselves in bland, generally anonymous indie-rock & – on the other end of that spectrum – to not influence-hop their way to an uneven-sounding album. The ten tracks that make up Panic Bird avoid the latter with ease, despite the various strands of their making. As for the former, the band does teeter ever on the edge of the abyss, but falls in only once: the low-energy, unimaginative “Beautifully Insane” splits the album nearly down the middle, resulting in two well-aligned halves. Fortunately this single mis-step does very little to weaken the overall effect of the album.
Halophile is already at work on a follow-up to Panic Bird, so we’ll soon see if this promising creative partnership can produce consistently. Until then, I’ll be content to listen to this magnificent record, & wax nostalgic about the heady days of high-school rock & roll.
