Album Review: Birds Of Tokyo - 'March Fires'

It seems as though Birds Of Tokyo are taking more of an indie rock approach to their new music making their already accessible sound even more accessible. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the group have made it clear from the start that mainstream success is their goal, those looking for something more off kilter (get it?) have Karnivool.

The singles, as per usual, are the highlights, the first of which, 'This Fire', demonstrates this indie rock feel the best with its repetitive chorus, reverberated vocals and dry guitar tones. The second, 'Lanterns', is a similar kind of song to 'Plans', the single from the last self-titled record, simple with strong melodies, and the type of phrasing that you can't help but sing-a-long to.

Everything on this record feels a bit more U2, like the band are reaching for stadium anthems with epic proportions, the percussion usually builds up in the songs from a single kick drum bringing everything else along with it. As tracks change from one to another, especially with 'The Others/White Leaves', the lack of diversity in the tones and feel of the songs are made obvious, the vocal phrasing is fairly similar, long and drawn out with heavy reverb, quick paced drums beats and the backing synth sounds that work well to make this a cohesive listen, but don't really give the songs in the mid-section much unique personality.

The instrumental breaks of 'Motionless' and 'Blume' suggest a level of experimentation not seen by Birds Of Tokyo before and do well to set up their following tracks, interestingly enough the two highlights, 'Lanterns' and 'Boy'. On the whole this is quite a soft record with a strong focus on vocals to drive the songs. Album closer 'Hounds' is a good example of this, quietly rumbling along with all instruments picking a particular melody line to focus on, never really deviating or building.

This could be considered a new direction for the band, maybe even the honing of their musical and song-writing abilities, either way it is somewhat refreshing.

'March Fires' is the kind of album that Birds Of Tokyo fans who were tiring of the band will love as it truly stands alone as something unique in the band's catalogue. It will also be very easy for newcomers to find something here that they will enjoy, so expect to hear plenty of this on the airwaves.

1. Liquid Arms
2. This Fire
3. When The Night Falls Quiet
4. Motionless
5. Lanterns
6. The Others
7. White Leaves
8. Blume
9. Boy
10. Sirin
11. Hounds