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Birds of Wales Make Great Pets, Good Music
Women love Birds of Wales. Midway through the band’s 1 A.M. NXNE showcase at the Drake, when the ront rows were filled with X chromosomes, and the choruses of “(drummer) Paul (Barry) is hot” and “(lead singer) Morgan (Ross) is hot” started, that much was clear.
Morgan Ross, pictured above, handles most of the songwriting duties. The rest of the band – Mike Caputo on Lead Guitar, Scott Christian on Piano, Paul Barry on Drums, and Morgan Smith on Bass – work together well, though there’s no denying that the Birds are lead-singer-centric. Ross founded the band, after all, less than a year ago, and on stage, he is the band’s most charismatic member. At NXNE, the Birds sounded pretty good, if a bit tired (it was 2:00 AM by the time they were done), but it’s their self-titled EP that sold me. The polished versions are really something, and the band is particularly strong on their catchier, upbeat numbers, “Fall of the 49” and “Life.” The Birds of Wales have talent, but, more than that, they have potential, and it’s hard to not be optimistic about their future.
And Birds of Wales are certainly taking flight. With a very eager postering job throughout all of downtown Toronto, a European tour beginning next month, and a months-long courtship with a major label, everything seems to be fitting into place for the band. Sadly, Scott Christian won’t be with them: he’s leaving the band behind to continue studying music at the University of Toronto. Though the loss of a pianist might sound unimportant, Christian has a level of devotion and an understated ability that adds a lot to the band.
After the band finished their set, and after Ross proudly announced that he was ready to start drinking, I heard one guy on his way out talking to his friend:
Indie man: “So man, what’d you think?”
His friend, laughing: “Well, it’s no Radiohead.”
I’m sure that the band wouldn’t mind. They aren’t, after all, anything like Radiohead. But if they keep working, and if – and only if – they find a good replacement for Christian, we might all have Birds of Wales as pets one day.
Birds of Wales play the El Mocambo at 11 PM on Saturday, June 17th, and the band’s EP is available now on iTunes and Amazon.ca. You can also find the band on MySpace (a band on MySpace? What?!?), and view more photos from their set at NxNE here.