I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again. It amazes me the amount of new and upcoming discs that are left off the various new release lists found online. The bulk of these lists are not worth the html code they’re written in. Even the comprehensive lists I check almost daily have had no record of a Sept. 28 release by Birdie Busch on Bar/None Records. This is a release I’ve been waiting for since her (simply) stunning 2005 debut record The Way We Try. So how it could be missing and thus a surprise to me is shocking.
I won’t lie and say I’ve been listening to this one for weeks, since I just got it yesterday. But I expect to listen to it obsessively for the rest of the fall and into the winter. My first impression was honestly one of surprise since Birdie’s altered the mostly solo acoustic guitar sounds of her debut to a more rich and dynamic full band sound. Since I considored her debut close to perfect a change as big as this threw me off at first. The music is always tasteful and very well may add to the mix, but at least on a couple of songs it was a distraction from Birdie’s wonderful voice and simple (poetic) woman-on-the-street lyrics.
However on a song like “Huff Singers (North Philly)” the band adds a number of essential elements, while still allowing Birdie Busch’s voice (and glowing personality) to shine through. “Huff Singers (North Philly)” is a great little song. It’s ostensibly about a real all male Black gospel group out of North Philly, but it’s really about so much more – like personal salvation, the transcendental nature of music, and doing what you love. This is but one of the 13 beautiful songs to be found on Penny Arcade.
PRE-ORDER here.
Bonus tracks from The Way We Try
I second all you say! Thanks for posting about Birdie..she’s amazing. And of course, she’s a hometown girl!