Press
Once stalwarts of the Galway indie scene, Mayo grunge-anti-folk duo Music For Dead Birds recently returned to our ears with the excellent double single Summer in Suburbia / Untied. In truth, the band never really stopped releasing music but were pretty low-key about it – you can check out their rather substantial discography on Bandcamp which is full of well-produced and well-written gems. Not Bad
Coursing No Museums low key melodies through all manner of Pavement style dulcet riffs, this Irish based duo of Jimmy Monaghan and Dónal Walsh are releasing some ‘seriously cool’ bedroom-pop from the Emerald Isle. Jangle Pop Hub
Music for Dead Birds is an Irish drums and guitar duo that blends traditional Celtic folk melodies and sounds with heavy rock/grunge vibe in way I've honestly never heard before. rousing, big muff pedal choruses are intermingled with delicate acoustic string work and contemplative singing, packing a punch in between the traditional material that hangs around the edges of the songs. The Modern Folk Music of America
“A Better View,” like many of their songs, draws you in with a soft, melodic guitar lick, hushed vocals, and a tight, restrained drum pattern before walloping you over the head with layers of overdriven cacophony and emotive hollering, then draws right back down to start it all over again, ending with a final triumphant, overblown riff. This is the kind of stuff that gets my approaching-40-year-old blood pumping like I was a teenager in a church basement rock show. Ball Of Wax
MFDB provide a soundtrack to lazy summer nights sitting joyously, yet pensively staring at the 'Shepherd's delight.' MDFB have embraced their surroundings and fed them musically into machinery that has harvested some of the most fertile musings I have heard this year.
Each track blossoms and brings with it adroit examples of true craftsmanship. I am actually intrigued as to what the band look like as they seem to occupy a roost that resembles some form of homely musical crop circle. Maybe they are scarecrows who haven't the heart to frighten the life out of the birds but instead left the fields and recorded what nobody else saw or knew. Crumbs In The Butter
The album opens up with some perfectly ramshackle lo fi indie rock ala Pavement or Sebadoh before settling into a much more laid back indie-folk mood. Sounding at times like some bedroom folky take on Grandaddy meets early Elliott Smith, the album will tick all the right boxes for all you lovers of lo-fi indie sounds. Its got that lovely laidback loose kind of sound that will most definitely appeal to early Yo La Tengo fans with just a hint at the weirder side of psych folk. The eight track mini album comes beautifullY packaged yet again courtesy of Rusted Rail in a miniature 3 inch card sleeve. Pressed on a tiny little 3 inch cd this is another gem for collectors of limited handmade editions. Road Records
They specialise in a form of ever-so-slightly off-kilter acoustic folk, atmospheric but close-focused and endearing. Those Geese Were Stupefied
The additional album info describes the recording as taking place in "various sheds, attics & bedrooms in Galway and Mayo." The end result represents clear intentions and highly creative songwriting and recording techniques. Hailing from Galway Ireland, Music for Dead Birds create a sensual and driving folk influenced electric guitar rock music. The lyrics are captivating and the vocal delivery together creates a strong focal point for the listener. Transitions between songs are surprising and make listening to this album refreshing and engaging. I appreciate the creative use of digital sampling and electronic drum programming mixed with acoustic instruments and voice. This 20 minute 3" release feels complete and sounds to me to be an important accomplishment for a band that I am sure has much more to come. I look forward to future works by both this band and their label! 8/10 Foxy Digitalis
Music for Dead Birds. What a cheery moniker. These folks squeeze 8 songs onto this tiny disclet and name it "And Then It Rained For Seven Days". As I'm off to Scotland on Saturday I'm hoping that isn't too prophetic. The first tunelet sounds like early 90's NY style lo-fi, shouty, repetitive & noisy, stop start stuff. Hurts my ears. 'What did you expect?' recalls some of Sebadoh's earlier experiments in distorted confessional pop, 'The Sex' is a tender folkish chestbeater with a hearty vocal chant, some really emotive guitar picking and a stunted primitive drum line. It gets folkier on the the sing-song 'To Grow Up Wet', the clickety dub laced snare cracks on the eerie & quite wonderful 'Pill, Oh' are a fine backdrop to the hazy boy/girl vocals and a shambling, meandering acoustic guitar. Fans of early Hood will REALLY like this one, it's boss. There's more songs but I never tell you about them all. You'd have nothing to be surprised by. Worth it for 'Pill, Oh' alone. Oh yes. Norman Records
The additional album info describes the recording as taking place in "various sheds, attics & bedrooms in Galway and Mayo." The end result represents clear intentions and highly creative songwriting and recording techniques. Hailing from Galway Ireland, Music for Dead Birds create a sensual and driving folk influenced electric guitar rock music. The lyrics are captivating and the vocal delivery together creates a strong focal point for the listener. Transitions between songs are surprising and make listening to this album refreshing and engaging. I appreciate the creative use of digital sampling and electronic drum programming mixed with acoustic instruments and voice. This 20 minute 3" release feels complete and sounds to me to be an important accomplishment for a band that I am sure has much more to come. I look forward to future works by both this band and their label! 8/10 Foxy Digitalis
Music for Dead Birds. What a cheery moniker. These folks squeeze 8 songs onto this tiny disclet and name it "And Then It Rained For Seven Days". As I'm off to Scotland on Saturday I'm hoping that isn't too prophetic. The first tunelet sounds like early 90's NY style lo-fi, shouty, repetitive & noisy, stop start stuff. Hurts my ears. 'What did you expect?' recalls some of Sebadoh's earlier experiments in distorted confessional pop, 'The Sex' is a tender folkish chestbeater with a hearty vocal chant, some really emotive guitar picking and a stunted primitive drum line. It gets folkier on the the sing-song 'To Grow Up Wet', the clickety dub laced snare cracks on the eerie & quite wonderful 'Pill, Oh' are a fine backdrop to the hazy boy/girl vocals and a shambling, meandering acoustic guitar. Fans of early Hood will REALLY like this one, it's boss. There's more songs but I never tell you about them all. You'd have nothing to be surprised by. Worth it for 'Pill, Oh' alone. Oh yes. Norman Records
And Then It Rained For Seven Days is a strong opening statement from the band, and reveals some different sides to their sound. On stage they have a strongly 1960s folk-pop style, but the new mini-album plays much more like edgy indie/alternative acoustic rock, with some experimental flashes. The Galway Advertiser
With a plethora of fuzzy, angular riffs and unpredictable rhythm shifts at their disposal, the lo-fi aesthetic throughout their album 'The Pope's Sister' is at once hugely original and amazingly accessible. Most definitely one for fans of slacker lo-fi bands such as Sebadoh, Polvo and Soul Coughing. AU Magazine
Filled with angular and well constructed songs “The Pope's Sister” is an intriguing collection from Irish band Music for Dead Birds. With the songs dominated by rhythm and heavy guitar lines, there is an uneasy backbeat to the tunes, something evident on the excellent “The Only Male Nun in Town”. , whilst on “The Doctor's Daughter” a dream like state is invoked, samples of speech adding to the fragility of the song. By the time you get to “Release the Dogs” you find you are fully immersed in the album, the twisted guitar lines hooking you in with relentless ease, only releasing as the last strains of “The Electricians Father” fade away. Terrascope Reviews
Filled with angular and well constructed songs “The Pope's Sister” is an intriguing collection from Irish band Music for Dead Birds. With the songs dominated by rhythm and heavy guitar lines, there is an uneasy backbeat to the tunes, something evident on the excellent “The Only Male Nun in Town”. , whilst on “The Doctor's Daughter” a dream like state is invoked, samples of speech adding to the fragility of the song. By the time you get to “Release the Dogs” you find you are fully immersed in the album, the twisted guitar lines hooking you in with relentless ease, only releasing as the last strains of “The Electricians Father” fade away. Terrascope Reviews