There are some who say that pop’s obsession with its past will seriously hamper its future. Indeed, the amount of revivalist acts who have been around in the previous few years is nothing short of staggering, especially so in the world of pop music. However, there seem to be just as many bands around who use their influences to create something fresh and new. Two Wounded Birds are a surf-pop band, but are far more than Beach Boys imitators, or even sub-Drums copycats.
Speaking of the latter band, TWB, who hail from Margate, are signed to Jacob Graham’s (The Drums’s synth man) Holiday Friends Recording Company, and the coincidences don’t end there, because this is pretty much everything that ‘The Drums’ should have been. While it took until last year’s ‘Portamento’ for The Drums to really find their feet, TWB arrive at the release of their debut album fully formed, having undergone a shift in sound of their own.
Their earlier material was lighter and breezier, quite melodic and easy-going, at least in terms of the music. The lyrics hinted at something deeper lurking beneath the surface, and as a result, the album starts out with quick-fire, infectious songs like ‘Together Forever’, full of youthful optimism, guided by frontman Johnny Danger’s fantastic voice, before the band immediately begin setting their sights on bigger things, with the album opening out to reveal a band full of depth and character. Recent single ‘To Be Young’ establishes itself as an album highlight early on, before ‘It’s Not Up to You’ and ‘Daddy’s Junk’ indicate that TWB are already trying to shake off their influences and mould them into something new.
It says something about how confident the group are that there is quite an impressive lack of filler on their self-titled debut; far from having a weak back half, the album in fact begins to hit its stride with ‘The Last Supper’ and continues to get better from there. It takes the band a song or two to really hit their stride, but once the record gets going, it doesn’t look back, and is self-assured enough to save its two best songs for last, with the masterful ‘The Outer World’ being paired with the downbeat closer ‘Growing’ to close an album that exceeds expectations. I, for one, was unsure if TWB would be able to make their sound work across a full album – it’s harder than it seems, as certain other bands will attest to – but, to their credit, they avoid all the clichéd debut album pitfalls, and in doing so produce something of real substance. They’re going to be around for the long haul, and you should jump on this album now before it blows up, because the band deserve everything that’s coming to them.
Two Wounded Birds is out today via the Holiday Friends Recording Co.
Posted by Gareth O’Malley
