Album Review: Birds In Row – Gris Klein (Red Creek Recordings)

French experimental punk / hardcore trio Birds in Row will release their third full-length album, Gris Klein on October 14th via Red Creek Recordings.

When it comes to Bird in Rows, expect the unexpected and then be amazed when they still surprise you. Always a delight to listen to, this is a band that delivers wild experimental music without straying into nonsensical territory. Even if a lot of what they do is baffling.

With Gris Klein, Birds in Row show that they’re never standing still and that their imaginations are seemingly endless. Limitless energy, menacing intensity, enriching melody and so much more. This is a triumph of a release, with the only complaint being that it isn’t longer.

The eccentricities of the band are on full display from the start. Opening track Water Wings, an emphatic blast of hardcore punk combined with post-lite melodies. Before things get moodier and more chaotic with Daltonians, Confettis delivers a foot-tapping guitar/drum beat and desperate sounding vocals, and Noah takes a fascinating monotone/drone-like approach, evolving as it goes on and punctuated by spurts of passion. This latter track is easily one of the most challenging and interesting tracks on the entire album.

It makes complete sense that Birds in Row would follow that up with something unduly chaotic, with peaks and valleys, melodic and striking, and that’s exactly what they do with Cathedrals, Nympheas and Grisaille. There’s simply no keeping up with this band when they’re in this mood but there’s no doubt everyone will want to try. Birds in Row are just to skilled at capturing the imagination and holding it tightly in their grip.

It’s another long one with Trompe l’oeil, yet Birds in Row make it feel half its six-minute runtime thanks to a smile-inducing tone. One that shifts from uncomplicated melody and subtly sung vocals to experimental carnage. The heavy switch is downright disturbing.

Most ‘normal’ bands wouldn’t be able to follow that but, you know, Birds in Row. The lunatics continue to showcase experimental depth and brazen intensity on Rodin, moody melodic lulls on Winter, Yet, and thrilling explosivity on Secession. This finale, bristling in such a way that it becomes infectious. The hairs will stand up on the body, the spine will straighten, the legs will quiver and the head will bang.

With Gris Klein, Birds in Row continue to show that they are one of the most exciting bands in the world today. No dull moments, no lulls in the excitement felt as it plays out, and no denying that it is the band’s best work to date.

Birds in Row – Gris Klein Full Track Listing:

1. Water Wings
2. Daltonians
3. Confettis
4. Noah
5. Cathedrals
6. Nympheas
7. Grisaille
8. Trompe l’oeil
9. Rodin
10. Winter, Yet
11. Secession

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