Inside Bird Club’s Secret Second Album
By William Dryden
Everyone knows Bird Club. They’re the best band to come out of the Southern Virginia University student body so far, and the only ones that aren’t an acapella group. The group is composed of lead guitarist and vocalist Jordy Gibbons (’21), bassist Nathan Dransfield (’21), drummer Sawyer Tompkins (’22), and guitarist/ my brother Jack Dryden (’21). Their debut/only album, Dog Days of Summer, objectively slaps. As of right now, they’ve officially disbanded. The only hope for new music lays with Gibbons’ recently announced solo album. If you still need some jams to tide you over until then, I have great news:
They have a second album.
Back in high school, before Bird Club had ever been suggested, Jordy, Jack, Nate, and Sawyer were still in a band they called The Loons (they had changed the name from Rock Mutt sometime around their graduation from middle school). One Thanksgiving weekend, they spent 72 straight hours recording their first album, Fruit of the Loons, which they released on Mar. 25, 2014. How does this album hold up to their newer endeavors?
Really, really well.
In fact, I’d say The Loons were better than Bird Club.
Bird Club, in its current state, sounds like American Football’s Southern cousin. They have the same airy, ambient melancholy with a distinct folksy acoustic sound. The Loons, in contrast, were much catchier, with stronger melodies and tighter lyrical construction. Songs like “Right Back Here” and “Knot In My Hair” have a definite indie rock feel to them.
“Rainy Day”, the album’s debut single, captures a perfect middle ground between the simple catchy tunes of The Loons and the slower, more relaxed atmosphere of Bird Club. A simple acoustic chord progression and bass line underneath Dransfield’s establishing voice sets the tone and tune that will get stuck in your head for weeks to come. Gibbons comes in the first verse with a voice remarkably similar to Isaac Slade of The Fray.
The lyrics themselves are in entirely familiar territory for any high school band: rage at the state of the music industry. The band really sets themselves apart from the typical teenage angst rock in how they treat it. It’s not an outburst of insults at whatever pop artist is #1 at the time. It feels bigger, like a genuine lament of all the shallowness they see in the industry.
Two points to you for your brand new shoes,
you know what’s cool, but not what’s true
I feel sorry for you
The song beneath is a slow burn, a ramp that carries the intensity up and up until it crescendos with a jam session at the final chorus. It ends with a return to the beginning, with the guitar and bass on one last pass on the main melody. It’s really the perfect song for a rainy day.
Turkey Joe, the final song on the album, sees The Loons begin to dip their toes into the water of more experimental acoustic sounds, a bit of foreshadowing for the years to come. This track sees them depart from the traditional verse-chorus structure in favor of a more meandering, folksy feel, something they would return to with Bring Back Pluto on their most recent album.
Though the music was impressive, this was still a high school band’s debut, which really shows in the mixing and mastering of the album, done by mutual friend Zac Montgomery. The audio engineering lacks a feeling of professional finish (think early Weezer). If you enjoy those rawer tones of garage rock, this will be familiar to you. There’s also still a definite amateur sound to the musicians. At times, the group’s vision is audibly limited by their skill level. The songs are still so well-crafted that this isn’t much of an issue.
That’s why I give Fruit of the Loons 4 and a half birds out of 5.
