REVIEWS

Many Birthdays
Days of Beat/Days of Hollow EP

Posted: Friday, May 04, 2007
By: Sarah Masear

On the Texan trio's fourth disc, Many Birthdays apply elegant restraint to a mess of genre-bending concepts, molding random clamor into lean quasi-pop vignettes. "Freeway" rings in the affair with persistent hollow clacking, laying groundwork for the composition. With every passing bar, a fresh instrumental layer is added, mounting tension with the utmost patience. Heavy drum machine beats bob in an undulating sea of synth-rock mastery, blending blasé Japanese intonations, jaunty retro rhythms, and spacey whirs and whooshes. The fluid build opens cerebral portals while a funky undercurrent pulls bodies toward the dance floor. The eccentric "Days Like Turtles" teases with toybox beats and wry indie-boy rap before it comes in for the kill with a huge, sweeping choral break you won't see coming. The effect is nothing less than magical. "Handful of Zeros" is a slight step down, but far from filler. The song hits its stride when the last minute melts into a woozy prog reverie with floating guitar strums, distant machine chugs, and eerie synth whines. Perhaps the most traditional of the five, "Black Crow" supplies a breezy, dance-friendly bridge to the cinematic finale, "Yume no Sekai." The EP closes all too soon with a surreal, intense burst of imagination, featuring a synthesized symphony fit for a dramatic film ending. Although Many Birthdays draw on a vast array of influences, they steer clear of bland imitation. Categorization is futile. Take my word for it: these are 17 minutes well spent.