Morning Kills the Dark

Biirdie's debut album, Morning Kills the Dark, projects the aura of naïvete quickly getting eroded as the protagonists become wise to the ways of the world, though retaining a wry determination to sink rather than swim, or at least stay afloat. Primary songwriter Jared Flamm offers amused, often keyboard-based, occasionally folky tunes that are slightly reminiscent of early-'70s British songwriters like David Bowie and Ray Davies in their ambiguous, warily witty world view, though not overtly so. The slightly straining, creaky male lead vocals are given a usefully light counterpoint by Kala Savage's more buoyant backup singing. Dreams that hover slightly (or more than slightly) out of reach and tough adjustments to bigger-city life seem to permeate the band's vision, with more specific references alluding to the struggle to break into the California dream. Biirdie's slightly melancholic sound is too probably too low key to attract the attention of the Los Angeles elite, if that's even their goal. But it's a likable early 21st century link in the chain that began with those wise-beyond-their-years British songwriters of the late '60s/early '70s.