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Album Reviews 24

A Lot Like Birds: Conversation Piece

By Jack Appleby · On October 7, 2011


As a listener, there are several avenues that could have lead you to A Lot Like Birds‘s debut full-length, Conversation Piece. Most of you likely ventured from Dance Gavin Dance-land, having heard that former vocalist Kurt Travis had teamed with this talented team of musicians. Aficionados are back because they loved the band’s original experimental EP, Plan B (which is still available for FREE). No matter your route, welcome to post-hardcore’s strongest release of the year, binding together emerging sub-genres into an undeniably excellent record.

No stone or sound goes unturned on Conversation Piece. The appeal of the album ranges from “The Wave” to Warped Tour, Mathcore to Metal, and Prog to…prog. Repeated listens should conjure thoughts of everyone from Touche Amore and La Dispute to Explosions In The Sky and Closure In Moscow, yet packaging the sounds in a way that’s new and refreshing. Few albums can stretch genre-boundaries without alienating audiences, yet A Lot Like Birds breezes through the task.

All you Kurt apostles will be pleased, as the man is at his best here. Every line he croons on Conversation Piece displays the anxious enthusiasm from his DGD debut with the free-flowing maturity of Happiness, all while hitting the strongest notes of his career. Despite great chorus contributions on alternating vocal tracks like “Orange Time Machines Care” and “Sesame Street Is No Place For Me,” his most mesmerizing moments are when the band yanks the reigns and gets sexy, like in “The Blowtorch is Applied to the Sugar” and the gorgeous “A Satire of a Satire of a Satire is Tiring.”

You’ll come for Travis, but you’ll leave with Cory Lockwood. In a scene where most screamers utter indecipherable angry bullshit, Lockwood displays several unique vocal approaches that all entertain. Sometimes he’ll tear you to shreds (see: “Think Dirty Out Loud“), while other times he’s taking a more Jordan Dreyer approach to things, opting for spoken word on the latter half of “Properties of Friction.” No matter what he’s sending through the mic, though, Lockwood’s performance (and afro) are sure to win over legions of fans.

Enough about the vocals though; the musicianship and composition behind A Lot Like Birds are the foundation of the band’s greatness. As I said before, the guitar playing of Michael Franzino and Ben Wiacek is more eclectic, complex and creative than the rest of the scene combined; that opening lead to “Vanity’s Fair” following the trumpets (yeah, you read right. Trumpets.) begs you to raise your fret fingers and play along. Joe Arrington’s beastly beats deserve recognition of their own, hitting with the ferocity of Underoath‘s Daniel Davison and the technicality of Saosin‘s Alex Rodriguez. Make sure to check the mastered version of leaked demo “Tantrum (Far From The Tree, The Apple Grew Rotten)” to witness the mastery of the ALLB’s rhythm section.

Like a finely-tuned machine, Conversation Piece is a record greater than the sum of its parts, even with the six talented members behind it. It’s absurd to think that this line-up has worked together less than a year, creating an album experienced bands dream of making. With their debut full-length, A Lot Like Birds have become one of post-hardcore’s most important new bands and one of the few capable of saving the scene.

Dance Gavin DanceKurt Travispost-hardcore
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Jack Appleby

As a journalist, Jack's written for AbsolutePunk, MindEqualsBlown, Under The Gun Review, Substream and several other music blogs. In addition to various writing endeavors, Jack manages bands through his own company, works with InTheClouds Records and serves as a Senior Social Media Strategist at Ayzenberg Group.

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24 Comments

  • Harry says: October 7, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    some users must be huffing some seriously strong glue to give low ratings on this cd. Its not even out yet home boys!

    Reply
    • Ridge Briel says: October 7, 2011 at 6:44 PM

      ^What he said.

      Reply
  • Chandler says: October 8, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    Fantastic album, evokes so much emotion and passion. Vanity’s Fair is currently my favorite, but every song is fantastic. You won’t be disappointed.

    Reply
  • Alex says: October 10, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    I love how everyone except the bassist gets mentioned. xD

    Can’t wait for the album, it comes out tomorrow but sometimes they leak early.

    Reply
  • bmoney says: October 11, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    I totally agree. He is legit, especially in Satire. Freaking sick nasty bass parts.

    Reply
  • Jackson Roe says: October 11, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    This album might be the best thing to ever happen to me.

    Reply
  • Michael's Dad says: October 11, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    Congratulations to my son Michael and ALLB. Best wishes for monumental success both on your new album and your upcoming tour.

    Reply
  • Jim Yates says: October 11, 2011 at 10:46 PM

    Congratulations from the Yates family!! I dont know your music that well but what I do know is a fathers love and pride.To see the email updates from your dad and see how proud he is of you guys.. I lost my father about ten years ago and as hard as it was, one condolence was knowing he was so proud of me. Hope the best for you guys, Jim

    Reply
  • Sev says: October 12, 2011 at 1:43 AM

    Congrats to Michael & A Lot Like Birds. Your dad is very proud of you and so am I, Best of luck with the CD and the tour. Sev

    Reply
  • Luis Dissapoint says: October 29, 2011 at 3:30 PM

    They should change the name of the band to A Lot Like DGD or Fall of Tory -1.0 … Dance Gavin Dance are the pioneers of this sound. Leonardo Da Vinci (DGD) already gave us Mona Lisa (DBM) so why would you want to remake or copy it again? I THINK YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR OWN SOUND, LIKE BEFORE YOU HAD KURT THE BAND!

    Reply
    • Maxx says: November 13, 2011 at 6:23 AM

      Maybe you should focus on your grammar, and they still have a unique sound, just Kurt kept his own vocals, both bands are great, even though one is dysfunctional. Just don’t be an ass about it.

      Reply
    • Brock Obama says: April 29, 2012 at 4:31 PM

      A Lot Like Birds sounds nothing like DGD, except for like 10 seconds in Vanity’s Fair. Get your head out of your ass. Also go to school and attend an English class, please.

      Reply
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