Charger/Birds Of Paradise Split CD
On this split CD, Charger and Birds Of Paradise contribute one roughly ten minute long track each. Issued on Charger frontman Martin Ives's own Calculated Risk Records, this is that band's first release since 2003 and showcases a retooled line-up. If you're not familiar with Charger's output, they're not as sludgy or doomy as you might expect (or the band credits suggest, with Leslie, Palmer and Woodroffe supplying 'Drone', 'Fuzz' and 'Buzz' respectively). Their track isn't a bowel-quaking experiment in frequency and drone manipulation a la SunnO))) or Boris; Charger operate at the more accessible end of the 'sludge' spectrum. They actually sound a bit like a modern hardcore band playing at a quarter of their usual speed. Riffs are kept fairly simple, with lots of long, sustained notes, and the drums ('beatings', apparently) do their stuff well. Vocals are a blistering and distorted sore-throat scream and contrast effectively with the mellower sections of their track. The production is quite dry though, and is disappointingly light on bass-heavy rumble. Still, a fine effort from a homegrown band - although despite what their promo bio says, they are hardly 'one of the heaviest bands the UK has ever produced'.
Birds Of Paradise are a different proposition, in that there's not the slightest whiff of sludge or doom about them. Their offering on this CD is more along the lines of contemporary progressive rock. Where Charger are content to stick with a mere handful of riffs and develop and repeat them over the course of their track, Birds Of Paradise mix things up by throwing in a multitude of new ideas, so that their song is constantly twisting and changing. Mildly atonal, deliberately 'difficult' prog sections melt into soothing passages with clean guitars and tinkly xylophones (yes, bloody xylophones!), which in turn give way to full on rock-outs. The vocals are delivered in a scratchy rasp, which, as with Charger's track, complements the heavy parts and juxtaposes well against the quieter interludes. Birds Of Paradise have apparently been singled out by a certain UK weekly rock/metal magazine as a talent to watch, and for once I have to agree with the buggers. Interesting note: their track on this CD was mastered at the famous Abbey Road!
It sometimes seems like the British rock scene is composed entirely of bands scrambling to jump on the emo/pop-punk/metalcore bandwagons (or worse yet, revive the decomposing corpse of nu-metal). Releases like this split CD remind you that there is more to the UK than ill-fitting trousers and affected American accents. Worthy of your support.