Night Birds - Fresh Kills Vol. II

Man, does time fly! This blog has been around so long that I reviewed Night Birds' Fresh  Kills Vol. 1 when it was still new! I originally imagined myself doing this blog for a year or two, maybe 3 or 4 tops. Nine years later, I just can't bring myself to stop. Don't I have anything better to do with my time? Apparently not! So here I am reviewing the second volume of Fresh Kills, which released today on Bandcamp with all proceeds going to the IDF (Immune Deficiency Foundation). This is a very simple and great idea for a digital collection: it compiles all of Night Birds' singles released since 2013. Included are the entirety of the EPs Maimed for the Masses, Monster Surf, and Who Killed Mike Hunchback? along with several comp cuts and unreleased songs for a total of 20 tracks. Stephen Egerton mastered these recordings, which sound absolutely phenomenal. Now if you've been a Night Birds fan all along, you probably own most of this stuff already. But if you don't, this is like getting a whole new Night Birds album for a $5 download - and in the process you're benefiting common variable immune deficiency research!

There's not much to say about Night Birds that I haven't said 16 times before. This is one of our great modern-day punk rock bands, and just the other day I found myself contemplating how Night Birds have some of the best lyrics in punk music ever (How prophetic was "Left In The Middle", written well before the unthinkable events of 2016?). Let the fans debate whether Born To Die In Suburbia or Mutiny At Muscle Beach is the best point of entry for Night Birds exploration (I might be a troublemaker and make my case for Roll Credits). But if you own and love all the albums and are wondering if Fresh Kills Volume II is really worth buying, the answer is absolutely yes! The Maimed for the Masses tracks hold up great and are highly underrated in my book. "Last Gasp", which I once referred to as a "throttling ode to autoerotic asphyxiation", remains a Night Birds classic. Some of the demos released as Who Killed Mike Hunchback? are arguably superior to the album versions. The instrumental tracks off of Monster Surf show off the band's sick chops. And if you want to hear Night Birds cover the likes of Effigies, GG & the Jabbbers, and Big Boys, this is definitely the collection for you.

For more information about the great work being done by the Immune Deficiency Foundation, check out the IDF web site. The $5 (or more) that you pay for Fresh Kills Vol. II will go to a worthy cause. Go ahead: complete your Night Birds collection! All downloads come with a PDF of liner notes!



-L.R.

https://night-birds.bandcamp.com/album/fresh-kills-vol-ii
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS

Night Birds - Roll Credits

Can you believe it's already been three years since Night Birds last released new music? A lot of punk bands' entire careers don't last three years! On that very topic, this year Night Birds mark ten years as a band. It kind of blows my mind that when I first reviewed Night Birds in 2011, they were a relatively new band just getting ready to release their first album. And here they are today, ten-year-veterans of the punk scene and in my book still the best punk band going. Out today on Fat Wreck Chords, Roll Credits is Night Birds' 4th album. Or is it? This is a release inspired by some of the classic 12-inches from the heyday of hardcore (the band mentions Negative Approach's Tied Down and Minor Threat's Out Of Step in particular). Running just a little over 17 minutes, Roll Credits is shorter than Husker Du's Metal Circus but considerably longer than Circle Jerks' Group Sex. So is it an album or an EP? The math is not helping me! Let's just call it a mini-album and be done with it!

So what do the mature, ten-year-old Night Birds sound like? Thankfully, they sound very much like Night Birds! I suppose we'll have to wait until at least the next record for Night Birds to go crossover thrash or post-hardcore. Roll Credits is a little bit of everything that the band does well. Bookend tracks "Pull The String" and "Roll Credits" are first-rate surf instrumentals (discerning ears will recognize the returning presence of Mike Hunchback on guitar!). "The Day I Beat My Brain" can best be described as "vintage" Night Birds, while "White Noise Machine" recalls the breakneck hardcore of the band's most recent album Mutiny at Muscle Beach. Given my personal tastes, I'm quite partial to the dark humor of "My Dad Is The BTK" and the punk/powerpop leanings of "Radium Girls". The latter, along with a terrific cover of Suicide Commandos' "I Need A Torch", demonstrate an emerging pop sensibility in the band's sound that might surprise people. But don't for a minute believe that the band has lost its edge. "Onward To Obscurity", the album's first non-instrumental track, is pure power and fury for all of its 127 seconds. Jerry A from Poison Idea sings backups on this one, and no doubt he hears in the music of Night Birds something near and dear to his heart. I love the lyrics to this song, which poke holes in the bubble of self-importance that so many people live under. And on the subject of great lyrics, "White Noise Machine" is perhaps the most insightful and dead-on response I've seen from any band to the political machinations that have normalized bigotry in modern America.

Whether you call it a mini-album or a 12" EP, Roll Credits is an inspired return for Night Birds. I like that it leaves me wanting more! These guys took some time away, and now they've come roaring back with energy and focus. This release gives me a little of everything I like about Night Birds, plus a little more I was not expecting. I always take record label one-sheets with a grain of salt, but I 100% agree with the line about Night Birds being at the absolute peak of their powers. There is much great music yet to come from this band. But if Roll Credits is indeed Night Birds' Damaged, let's hope that doesn't mean we have to wait three years for the next record!



-L.R.

https://night-birds.bandcamp.com/album/roll-credits 
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS 
https://nightbirds.oknoway.com/ 
http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/107 

Character Actor - self titled EP

The only thing I love as much as the story behind Character Actor is the New Jersey outfit's actual music. This project began as a creative outlet for three longtime friends who had had all become dads around the same time. It started with Jeff Schroeck (Black Wine/The Ergs!) and Brian Gorsegner (Night Birds) retreating to the garage to "write some loud, fuzzy pop songs". With the addition of Evan Kiel (Forward To Death), Character Actor solidified as a trio. The band's debut EP was recorded in January, and it's out now on Dirt Cult Records. Musically, this could not be any more up my alley. Catchy pop tunes with noisy guitars? Sign me up! Surely Chris from Dirt Cult heard these songs and immediately knew Character Actor had to be on his roster!

Jeff Schroeck wrote these songs, which absolutely bear his style. When you hear his voice and guitar playing, you immediately know who it is. And I can't think of a lyricist who is more clever or literate. His words always blow me away while still leaving lots of room for interpretation. How many other bands have introduced themselves to the world with a line like "We're all warm chairs/To those seeking heat"? Literature and popular culture have always been frequent inspirations for Schroeck's songwriting. That continues to be the case on songs like "What I Learned From Righteous Cowboys"("The tall man, gun with a pearloid handle/He can shoot the flame off a Mexican prayer candle") and "Rubicon Beach" (which does reference the Steve Erickson novel). The tempos are for the most part snappy, although that gets dialed back some on the thoughtful, laid-back "72 Paperbacks". There is pretty much zero chance that fans of Black Wine and Ergs! won't love Character Actor. And it's fun to be reminded that the lead singer of the world's greatest punk band is also a sick drummer! If you long for the 1980s heyday of indie rock and college radio, this is a band that really captures that spirit. Is this what dad rock has become in 2018? If so, I endorse it fully!



-L.R.

https://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/character-actor 
https://www.facebook.com/dirtcultrecords 

Some new old stuff from Night Birds!

I'm a bit embarrassed that I'm a month late getting to this review. Come on, it's the freaking Night Birds! I would not blame the band for declining to make a donation in my name to The Human Fund this Christmas. But late or not, this post is well worth your attention! If you're a huge fan of Night Birds (and who isn't?!), you really need to get your hands on the band's recently released collection of early demos. Titled Who Killed Mike Hunchback?, this is actually the second in a series of original demos released by Fat Wreck Chords. The obvious point of comparison is the Black Flag '82 Demos bootleg - which a lot of fans consider to be superior to the proper releases those songs would later appear on. And while no one's complaining about how these particular Night Birds songs turned out on record (five of them ended up on the first LP, and "Thrilling Murder" appeared on the band's self-titled 7"), these demos rip so hard that it would have been a shame if they'd never been released! The case could be made for A-side cuts "Demon Haunted World", "One Eye", and "Oblivious" being at least as good as the later studio versions. And it's fascinating to hear former guitarist Mike Hunchback serve as a one-man band on rough demo versions of classic NB tracks "Born Of Man and Woman" and "Thrilling Murder". This release is an incredible treat for fans, who should quickly go about securing one of the 1500 limited copies. Yet if this was somehow your first time hearing Night Birds, you'd immediately appreciate what a ferocious and fantastic band this is. Seriously: hearing these demos takes me back to the very first time I heard Night Birds and how instantly blown away I was. Get Who Killed Mike Hunchback via Night Birds' Bandcamp or directly from Fat Wreck!



-L.R.

https://night-birds.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS

New Night Birds album....WOW!

Holy shit, have you heard this new Night Birds record?! Unbelievable, right?! Of course I expected the album to be really freaking good. After months of eagerly awaiting its release, I was anticipating nothing short of complete excellence. But, DAMN! I don't think I was quite prepared for this!

On their brilliant second album Born To Die In Suburbia, Night Birds showed us growth and variety and a fully realized musical identity. It was the perfect sophomore album - forever silencing the notion of Night Birds being overly indebted to their musical influences. But with the bar set so high, I wondered how they'd possibly go about topping themselves. I considered the possibility that they'd make a totally great third album and I'd still be like, "Ahh, it's no Born To Die In Suburbia." But nothing of the sort happened! If you expected Night Birds to lose their edge now that they're on a big label, fear not. They actually went the other direction! Following the creative refinements of Born To Die In Suburbia, the Fat Wreck Chords release Mutiny at Muscle Beach is pure raging adrenaline. It's the sound of four dudes channeling their collective life frustrations into a fast and furious hardcore punk assault. Never before have Night Birds sounded this ferocious, this urgent, this hell bent on obliterating everything in their path. Mutiny At Muscle Beach is the kind of record you turn to when you're pissed off and on edge and fully disgusted by the human race. You're primed to destroy whatever or whoever gets in your way. Nothing but punk rock will alleviate your distress. You lock your door and drop the needle on the vinyl. You crank the volume so loud that the walls shake. You thrust your fist in the air and scream along to every lyric. All that energy flows through you, and you get an indescribable rush. For the next 25 minutes, all is right in your world. And if you assumed that nobody makes those kinds of records anymore, Night Birds are here to set you straight!

No doubt, new drummer Darick Slater has given Night Birds' sound a huge kick in the pants. I suspect the guy may be an alien - or at least part robot. He and Joe Keller let it rip like the second coming of Chuck Biscuits and Randy Rampage. You just won't hear a punk group with hotter chops, and producer Chris Pierce deserves massive kudos for capturing every bit of that scorching intensity in the studio. But the difference in this album is more approach than personnel. From the songwriting down to the musical performances, it's as if the intention of this release was to completely blow our heads off! Half of the tracks don't even clear two minutes, and the longest one comes in under three. On lead vocals, Brian Gorsegner summons anger and desperation from a very real place within himself. In an entirely awesome way, he sounds like he's on the verge of losing his mind. I don't feel like Brian has ever gotten quite enough credit as a singer, and in a lot of ways his vocals are the force propelling this entire album. And I love how the rest of the band is so perfectly in sync with his fired-up mindset. Yet even with the step-up in aggression, Night Birds remain committed to tuneful melodies and catchy as hell choruses. From top to bottom, this is the band's strongest collection of songs to date. Blistering tracks like "(I'm) Wired" and "Lapsed Catholics Need Discipline" will leave you battered and gasping for air, while the slow-burning "Son Of Dad" is a menacing change of pace. Looking for something a little different? "In The Red/In The Black" sounds like Milo Goes To College era Descendents surfing on Adderall. And while everyone likes to place Night Birds' musical time machine somewhere in the vicinity of Orange County 1981, the Kinks cover "King Kong" sounds more like L.A. circa 1978.

If you're craving "vintage" Night Birds ("Golden Age Of TV", "Left In The Middle") or surf instrumentals ("Miskatonic Stomp"), Mutiny At Muscle Beach will not leave you wanting. But by no means is this a case where owning the previous LPs makes the purchase of the new one unnecessary. Night Birds worked extremely hard to create a strong debut for Fat Wreck, and they came through with an absolute stunner. This is one of the best punk groups of its generation at the very top of its game. As a huge fan of the classic albums of Black Flag, DOA, Zero Boys, etc., I would absolutely consider Mutiny At Muscle Beach to be their modern day counterpart. It will get you pumped up for whatever challenges you face in your daily life, and it has a lot to say about the state of society. At a time when the world needs punk music more than ever, it's important to recognize that there are some really great bands out there. I'd put Night Birds at the top of the list.



-L.R.

https://night-birds.bandcamp.com/album/mutiny-at-muscle-beach 
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS 
http://nightbirds.oknoway.com/ 
https://www.fatwreck.com/band/index/108 

Monster Surf!

Today Night Birds join the short list of bands that have been featured five times on this blog. This entitles them to quite the array of prizes - including a complete set of F & L beach towels, a case of WWE ice cream bars, two dozen collectable golden medallions bearing the images of various Fastbacks drummers, and a year's supply of puffy shirts. And while their entry into this exclusive five-timers club indicates that they've been putting out a healthy amount of music in recent years, to me it's more about the quality of their output. At no point have Night Birds settled for repeats of previous releases. They're always pushing themselves to be more awesome. With every new record, they offer something new or different or unexpected. New EP Monster Surf totally fits that description. If you're a fan, you're sure to love it. But in no way has the band done a record quite like this before.

The idea behind Monster Surf is genius. Since Night Birds have always included surf instrumentals on their records and in their live set, wouldn't it be kind of cool if they did an entire EP of nothing but surf instrumentals? Absolutely! So here it is - out on Wallride Records. And it does not disappoint! One thing I've always admired about Night Birds is that their instrumentals are something to look forward to. They're not "filler". When you hear them do an instrumental track, your reaction isn't "I wish this song had vocals." It's more along the lines of "This freaking rules!" Perhaps the only concern you could have about this EP is that it seems a waste to have one of punk rock's greatest front men riding the pine. But while Brian does step away from the microphone on this release, he moves over to synthesizer duties and really adds something cool to the mix. Joe and P.J. have worked up three original instrumentals along with a killer arrangement of "Hope For The Best (Expect The Worst)" from the classic Mel Brooks film The 12 Chairs. Listening to this EP, I'm really struck by Night Birds' chemistry and musical skill. P.J. tears it up on guitar, and that rhythm section gets to show off chops that are sometimes obscured by the sheer velocity of the band's "regular" attack. And the addition of horns is a neat touch. I've never been surfing, but "Pyongyang Bound" makes me feel like I actually have. I can practically smell the ocean. "Agent Zero", on the other hand, has me picturing Snake Plissken surfing a tsunami in Escape From L.A. "Hope For The Best (Expect The Worst)" is immediately recognizable, yet somehow these guys make it sound like it was written to be a surf song! Hopefully this record will inspire a few people to check out The 12 Chairs - one of Brooks' best and most underrated films. If Night Birds ever did a full album of Mel Brooks covers, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I bet they could knock "Springtime For Hitler" out of the park.

Whether you're a hardcore Night Birds fan (pun fully intended) or just a lover of surf rock in general, Monster Surf is a mandatory purchase. And if for whatever reason you're morally opposed to instrumentals, you'll be happy to hear that Night Birds are writing new material and preparing to invade Europe this summer. Don't these guys ever rest?!



-L.R.

http://wallriderecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS
http://night-birds.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wallride-Records/51066090055

Born To Die In Suburbia

Yessssss! It's finally here: the best album I've heard since I started this blog two years ago! I've had the calendar circled for months! I'm declaring today an unofficial holiday. You will find me dancing in the street, dressed like Snake Plissken. I have procured celebratory fireworks. Night Birds über alles!

I have been known to sometimes go a little overboard in my reviews (Who, me?). But in this case I'm far from the only individual who's raving about Night Birds' long-awaited second LP. For my money, this is the best punk rock band of present day. And as awesome as their debut album was, Born To Die In Suburbia is at another level entirely.

Out today on Grave Mistake Records, Born To Die In Suburbia is the soundtrack to a modern world on the verge of collapse. While not quite a concept album, Born To Die paints a grim portrait of a society ravaged by addiction, dysfunction, and soulless consumerism. In terms of musical approach, Night Birds haven't messed with a winning formula. The foursome continues to draw from the ripping melodic hardcore of early '80s California and points beyond (Zero Boys, Naked Raygun), and the band's trademark surf guitar is as prominent as ever. But this album is far from "more of the same". Two years on and strengthened by hundreds of live performances, Night Birds have come on with a tighter and considerably more powerful attack. If these guys had any more chemistry, Walter White would have them on speed dial. Perhaps most significantly, primary songwriters Joe and Brian are in such a zone that I suspect they may be taking performance enhancers for the brain. This is the band's finest and most varied collection of songs to date. For sure, frantic burners like the title track and "No Spoilers" will have you raging in your bedroom and jacking up the volume. And the surf instrumentals shred as expected. But there are songs here - like "Less the Merrier" and "Golden Opportunity" - that break the fast and furious mold of previous recordings. And Night Birds may have given us a career defining song in the haunting epic "Nazi Gold".

As always, I'm blown away by Night Birds' ability to take inspiration from the classic punk sounds of yore and make them fresh for current times. Born To Die, while certain to thrill fans of early '80s beach/skate punk, is very much an album for now. It's got an urgency to it. The lyrical content is particularly pertinent - mixing scathing social commentary with character sketches of despairing souls doomed to hapless existences. The title track, built on a premise that a lesser band would play for laughs, illuminates the reality of a dying American dream. And "Modern Morons" is a remarkably truthful indictment of contemporary society ("We elect whores who should to be shot/Watch TV with no fucking plot"). Joe Keller is hands-down my favorite lyricist out there, and he's never written more compelling material. The intriguing and mysterious "Nazi Gold" is his magnum opus.

Given that Night Birds went through a major personnel change last year (P.J. Russo is in on guitar for the departed Mike Hunchback), it would have been reasonable to wonder how the band would be affected. But really, the transition has been seamless. Rather than attempt to imitate his predecessor, P.J. brings his own (and equally awesome) style to the table. And that has certainly played a vital role in the growth of the band's music. This is pretty much the same old Night Birds, but in some ways it's not. It's incredibly difficult in punk rock to move forward without dramatically changing your sound. But Night Birds have pulled it off, and they've delivered a punk rock classic for the end of days. As a wise man once said: Pretty good. Pretttttttty, pretttttttttty, pretttttty good!



-L.R. 

https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS
http://gravemistakerecords.bandcamp.com/album/born-to-die-in-suburbia
http://gravemistakerecords.blogspot.com/

Night Birds are back!

It's been rumored that when the new Night Birds single showed up in my mailbox, I flipped out like Steve Martin in The Jerk and ran up my street screaming, "THE NEW NIGHT BIRDS 7" IS HERE!!" Frankly, I did not expect that information to get out. I could have sworn that no one saw me. It was very early in the morning.

Having waited two years for new material from Night Birds, I was wondering if they'd still sound the same. Two years is a long time in the life of a band. Over the past 24 months, Night Birds easily could have gone through an electronica phase or committed themselves to the meticulous imitation of Village People circa their "new wave" album Renaissance. But thankfully they did not. Maimed for the Masses is essentially the same old Night Birds we've loved for years - except somehow even better. I don't know how they do it, but these guys continue to draw inspiration from the surf-inflected punk/hardcore sounds of early '80s California without sounding like copycats or second-raters. And like only the best punk bands can do, they create a sound that's true to a classic period yet still highly relevant to present times. Released last week on Fat Wreck Chords, Maimed for the Masses is an appetizer for the band's forthcoming LP Born To Die In Suburbia. The title track will appear on the album, and the other three songs are exclusive to this release. It goes without saying that this is the best record of the year - until the LP comes out!

"Maimed for the Masses" is everything you've ever loved about Night Birds condensed into 96 seconds of tuneful aggression. It's got it all: scintillating surf guitar, speed of light drumming, an anthemic chorus, a ripping solo, frothing incantations from frontman Brian Gorsegner, and backing vocals that would have made the young Adolescents envious. Befitting a song written in tribute to pro wrestling legend Mick Foley, it's a blistering statement about what it means to sacrifice your own body for some greater good (with obvious parallels to the life of a touring punk rocker). If Night Birds haven't exactly re-invented themselves, they've definitely taken things to a higher level of awesomeness. Their attack is tighter and more powerful than ever, and their songwriting chops show considerable progression. Even if the band had filled the B-side with dead air, a xylophone rendition of "We Will Fall", or actual audio of Michael Richards at the Laugh Factory, Maimed for the Masses would still be a must-own.

But truthfully, all three B-side tracks are first-rate and would have made a formidable EP by themselves. It's a nice problem to have when you write so many good songs that you can't fit them all on one album! The breakneck hardcore of "Barred Out" revels in high anxiety and prescription pill addiction, while "Last Gasp" is a throttling ode to autoerotic asphyxiation (yeah, they went there). One thing that's always been awesome about Night Birds is their dark lyrics - which are as delightfully unwholesome as ever! And even when there are no lyrics, this band still kills it. The instrumental "Boat Trash" is a perfectly punked up shot of classic surf rock, reaffirming that there's more than just speed and rage to Night Birds' music. No doubt about it: these dudes can really freaking play!

Man! If this is just the "teaser", consider me properly worked up! July better hurry up and get here! The album's gonna be sick!


-L.R. 

http://night-birds.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS

The Other Side of Darkness

I had been eagerly awaiting the release of Night Birds’ debut album The Other Side of Darkness for a number of months. I was psyched! I was checking on-line for updated release dates on a bi-weekly basis. I kept inspecting the prospective cover art so that my guy at the tattoo shop would have something to work with. I scheduled two vacation days in Mid-September so I could circle dance in my living room and go surfing on the Codorus Creek. Too often in life, such highly anticipated things end up disappointing. There was that date in college with Gina Millaveski, who turned out to be both a bra-stuffer and an obsessed fan of Jesus Jones and EMF. Vanilla Coke was a complete and utter bust. And I’m still waiting for George Lucas to refund the $6 I spent to see The Phantom Menace. But Night Birds - they were not about to let me down. I expected The Other Side of Darkness to be album of the year material, and that’s exactly what it is!

By now it’s been well established that Night Birds fly under the influence of early ‘80s California hardcore and surf-punk. But that’s just a frame of reference, not a band-definer. Yeah, these guys have heard their fair share of Adolescents, Agent Orange, and Dead Kennedys records. But they are not copyists. They are very much a band for now. Musically, their 13-songs-in-22-minutes breakneck ferocity is hardly novel. But in combining a slight eeriness with a zany sense of humor and pure hardcore aggression, Night Birds exhibit the kind of distinctiveness that separates great bands from not-so-great bands. Plus they’re just really freaking good at what they do. If you have doubts that punk rock can remain a vital musical form some four decades after The Stooges spat out “I Got A Right”, this album ought to erase them fast. And I do mean fast! Faster and louder? This is IT! While Night Birds’ arsenal is expanding and maturing (a little!), there’s no drop-off in terms of speed or intensity. This record flat-out rips. Invite some friends over and get a circle pit going. Or just crank up the volume to 11 and piss off the neighbors! I always appreciate bands who know how to tap into the zeitgeist of their time – and songs like “Demon Haunted World” and “Paranoid Times” do just that. If this is what punk rock sounds like in the year 2011, then punk’s in damn good shape. Five stars!

- L.R.

http://www.facebook.com/NGHTBRDS

Night Birds: beach punk, East Coast style!

Based out of New York and North Jersey, the Night Birds are like the super team Phil Leotardo could have had if he’d joined forces with Tony Soprano instead of whacking half his crew. With the release of the band’s first studio album just a few weeks away, it’s high time to check out the foursome’s recent collection Fresh Kills Vol. 1. How about that title! Isn’t that just about the greatest album title of all-time? And guess what: it lives up to the name! The Night Birds - Brian, Mike, Joe, and Ryan- play classic hardcore punk with a surfy twist. For sure there are obvious hints of the Adolescents, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks, and other early ‘80s Cali-punk bands in their music. But this influence does not come off in a copycat or pointlessly rehashed way. The Night Birds are no one’s clone, and there’s something surprisingly contemporary about their fast-and-furious attack. Imbued with a stealthily melodic sensibility, songs like “Killer Waves”, “Midnight Movies”, “Bad Biology”, and “Thrilling Murder” absolutely shred. And the surf-rock guitars are integrated so seamlessly and awesomely that you’ll wonder why in the heck more hardcore bands don’t follow suit! Basically this is the Night Birds’ very own Black Flag First Four Years. It compiles three 7” EPs plus the band’s ultra-rare demo in its entirety. Spitting out 15 blistering tunes in well under a half-hour, this disc totally kills (sorry, pun intended). If the only possible criticism of the collection is that it leaves “room to grow”, the soon-to-be-released The Other Side of Darkness will no doubt convert the skeptics. While some may contend that nobody plays hardcore anymore “like they used to”, the Night Birds are proving them way wrong. Dig!

- L.R.

http://night-birds.bandcamp.com/album/fresh-kills-vol-1

http://www.facebook.com/#!/NGHTBRDS