11-27: Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain
11-20: Wooden Wand and the Vanishi...: The Flood
10-02: ...: Oboroed/Circus Live...
07-04: Need New Body: Where's Black Ben?
04-09: Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness
10-13: Sonic Youth: Sonic Nurse
10-13: Things Explod...: It's Never Worked Befor...
10-03: Controller.Controller: History
Music Reviews index


11-09: Three...Extremes
10-19: Battle Royale II
10-04: A History of Violence
08-26: Grizzly Man
08-22: The 40 Year-Old Virgin
08-12: The Dukes of Hazzard
08-05: The Devil's Rejects
08-03: The Island
Movie Reviews index


01-06: List: Best/Worst of 2005: Movies
08-28: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 2
07-02: List: 2004's Best and Worst Movies
04-20: Article: Mikel Ate That CD
04-20: Interview: Half of the Fiery Furnaces
04-17: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 1
04-08: List: 2003's 20 Best Albums
Features index


Birdie Hilltop: Surround the Birthday
Birdie Hilltop
Surround the Birthday
Frigital: July 05, 2004

70


Thank you Birdie Hilltop.

Not only did you support my theory that all bands with a xylophone in them are automatically half cool/good, but you also add hope to my dream that lo-fi can and will still be an enjoyable format in this increasingly digitalized world. And, with Iron & Wine converting this year to the ultra crispness of studio recording, I was beginning to think all hope was lost. But no, crappy fuzzy lo-fi music lives on! Your little home tape recordings sounded like the eerie yet pleasant folk of Pseudosix meeting the songcraft of Elliott Smith, or, more specifically, recent hit Rogue Wave. Even if your album is as utterly sappy as The New Year, its melancholy came off as heartfelt, and it serves as a great indie slumber gloom recording. You may not be the best, but I'll love you (for a little while).

Yours truly,

Andrew

P.S. Please use your xylophone more often, as those songs that feature it over your regular wood tapping percussion are a lot nicer. Thanks.


quoth Andrew Wexler.



1/ Looking for Your Hat
2/ Bucket of Laughs
-> 3/ Megaphone
-> 4/ That's My Girl
5/ As Kids
6/ You Know the Dance
7/ It's Raining Out
-> 8/ She's a Liar
-> 9/ Watch Out
10/ Running Queen
11/ I'm Fat