Birds Of Avalon

The self-titled NOT debut from the Birds Of Avalon is reportedly a departure. Previously a garage-rock band, this new one is decidedly more psychedelic. But unlike, say, a Portugal. The Man- the Birds are quite sloppy. Not the Beatles-influence at all. Actually, at their best, these guys can even resemble an early '70s Aerosmith. But not the boogie part. This album's "Invasion" sounds like a Rush-infused "Seasons Of Wither". Make sense?

There some backward guitar leads of basic rock riffs. Someone will have maracas to keep the beats less intense. And sometimes a keyboard is underneath it all. Sloppy, like garage style - but a lot more instrumentation than garage rock. And the song lengths are more on the psychedelic end of the spectrum (+5:00)

Another thing needed by garage rockers that is lacking here is attitude. Singer Paul Siler is one of the most matter-of-fact singers I've heard this side of Britt Daniel. And if you're going to lack attitude, you should at least bring some songwriting and melody to the table, which is not here either. What's left is a collection of songs that is trying to focus on the instrumentation to get it through. And the Birds are not jammy or qualified enough to make that dog hunt. (2 of 5 stars)