Birdie Albums (2)
What The Critics Say
Birdie's brand of accessible pop for sophisticates (and lovers of Burt Bacharach) will (and should) probably end up as required listening for fans of Stereolab and the High Llamas, but it wasn't always so. The duo's last recording, Some Dusty, was a mainly acoustic affair, filled with low-key pop hooks and an only slight Sean O'Hagan influence (he arranged the strings). Triple Echo takes off where Some Dusty settled down, combining the best of those acoustic guitars with the best of everything Stereolab and the High Llamas have to offer and blending those influences with perfect instrumentation (horns, electric piano, clavinet, flute, Mellotron, organ) and airy seamless vocals. The melodic drift of these songs keeps the listener deeply engaged from "The Original Strand" through to "Coda," never once losing a swirling '60s lounge-style pace or sepia-tinged focus. This is easy listening for everyone. Triple Echo deserves a place in your record collection right alongside Dots and Loops and Gideon Gaye. ~ Terrance Miles, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Comparisons between Birdie's Some Dusty and the music of Saint Etienne are inevitable: not only are both bands entrenched in their deep affection for the melodic grandeur and romantic melodrama of vintage girl-group pop, but Birdie's Debsey Wykes and Paul Kelly both used to serve as auxiliary members behind Sarah Cracknell and company -- not just a reference point, but a direct lineage. Wykes' roots run much deeper than that, however -- she previously served as a member of the wonderful if sadly unknown Dolly Mixture; moreover, Some Dusty is unrepentantly retro in ways the postmodern restlessness of Saint Etienne would never allow; boldly referencing the greatest of all British pop singers (Dusty Springfield) in its title and conjuring the sophisticated majesty of the greatest of all pop composers (Burt Bacharach, of course) in its warm, slinky grooves, the album evokes a simpler, better musical era with uncommon acuity. Any one of the disc's highlights (the first three tracks, "Laugh," "Dusty Morning," and "Let Her Go," respectively, are all particularly splendid) wouldn't sound at all out of place on a '60s girl-group retrospective -- compliments just don't come much higher than that. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
