breaker! breaker! "where all the birds yell"

Breaker! Breaker! have this whole dance vibe thing going on. They've also got this punk thing going on, too. Of course, one might think that they're going for that whole postpunk thing that's been popular amongst the hipster set, but luckily they're not that dumbed-down. Believe me, boys and girls, there's been a lot of total and utter crap that's been unleashed on the world in the name of post-punk. Breaker! Breaker! stands out above the mediocrity. Sure, they're a threesome, true they've got tattoos and synths, but not true that they're, um, crap

Where All the Birds Yell takes me back to that too-brief mid-90s phenomenon of Olympia punk-wave. This movement was pretty much headed up by Mocket and Satisfact, and it just disappeared without a trace. Mocket was a blend of Riot Grrrl with new wave, so you can see what we're talking about, and Breaker! Breaker! are so much like Mocket that at first I wondered if the two bands were related. Though it ends almost as soon as it hits its stride (ten songs in 23 minutes!), this album is crammed with action-packed fun POP songs and you really won't mind hitting repeat. The vocals are interchanging between all three members, and the boy/girl interchange adds a nice touch. I'm really fond of "Do Right, Do Wrong" and "Little Missiles."

The main problem with a record like this is that it occasionally stumbles; it's hard to maintain such a frentic pace without faltering a time or two. Don't worry about it, though, because I feel Breaker! Breaker! is more about the vibe and the fun and the intense rush of playing (bet they kick ass live!) than they are about being totally, utterly perfect with every song. That's all a part of their charm, of course. Where All The Birds Yell is a fun record that just happens to sound current and hip and fresh and new. Put it in your car, you'll speed every time. Put it on your stereo and play it loud for strangers, and I bet you'll have a great time, too.

And ultimately, isn't that the whole point of music?

--Joseph Kyle

Label website: http://www.velocirecords.com
Artist website: http://www.breakerbreaker.org