ARTIST: The Lesser Birds Of Paradise
TITLE: Space Between
LABEL: Cataphonic Records
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 225 kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 48min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-08-08
RIP DATE: 2006-12-04
Track List
----------
1. My Refrain 3:11
2. A Rehearsal 3:33
3. Paint Your Fingernails 3:01
4. Do You Remember When (We 3:50
Overthrew The Government)
5. Always The Sound 3:45
6. I Envy The Photons 3:11
7. Claire Danes, If You Ever Get 3:23
A Nose Job, I Swear To Jesus
I'll Hang Myself
8. Spider Outside 3:06
9. So The Bear Wipes His Ass With 4:05
The Rabbit
10. The Devil's Rope 5:59
11. Take The Leaves 3:52
12. A Mother's Arms 2:54
13. You Are My Sunshine 4:54
Release Notes:
http://www.lesserbirds.com/
The Lesser Birds of Paradise came to life in the winter of 1998, formed around
the singer-songwriter styling of Mark Janka and featuring a line-up of
multi-instrumentalist Tim Joyce, bassist Tony Bianchi, and percussionist Greg
Thomas. The group quickly aligned themselves with upstart Chicago label Loose
Thread Recordings (Melochrome, Zelienople, Cricket Rumor Mill, etc.), and ▐xed
themselves into the city's scene with the release of 2000's A Suitable Frame,
and 2001's ep,It Isn't the Fall. Along the way, The Lesser Birds shared stages
with the likes of American Analog Set, Crooked Fingers, the Fruit Bats, Odawas,
Gorky's Zygotic Minci, Owen, Radar Brothers, Currituck County and the Zincs,
setting the band up for bigger stages and better things.
It's often the unexpected surprise of something beautiful that gives us the most
belief and strength in what we do. 2004's String of Bees, on Contraphonic Music
Ltd., was met with a larger national presence, and critical acclaim. Rockpile
Magazine declared, "records like this only come along a few times a year...their
third, possibly best effort to date." Sponic Magazine forecasted "String of Bees
is the type of music Americans will always excel at, and with a few more
releases like this Lesser Birds of Paradise could become some of our best
ambassadors." Back home, the Chicago Reader exclaimed String of Bees to be "so
gorgeous it's almost toxic." The group played to larger crowds on larger stages
with bands such as The Court & Spark and The Wrens, and expanded their fan base
while consistently touring of the South and East coasts. Throughout all this
activity, including the departure of bassist Bianchi, The Lesser Birds of
Paradise refined their sound to its most organic elements, grew more focused,
ambitious, and increasingly collaborative. Later in 2004 the band recorded a
short 5 song EP for Chicago's Tight Ship Records. The Scenery was a departure
form previous studio efforts. Recorded mostly live, in half a day, with very few
overdubs, The Scenery's resulting sparseness and openness is a nice compliment
to String of Bees' layered textures and subtle studio trickery.
The Lesser Birds of Paradise's recent efforts finds the subtle experiments and
arrangements that acted as flourishes on previous releases turned into integral
muscle on the mesmeric Space Between. With emphasis on every detail, Space
Between opens up secret passageways of sound, where melodies aren't so much
played as naturally grown, where single notes, pump organs, xylophones, muted
drums, and echoing voices, layer in a warm, seductive embrace. Coupled with
tapestries of American Gothic narratives, sly humor, animal characters, and
Robert Creeley-cum-Charles Olson poetics, The Lesser Birds of Paradise have
created a record of lasting impression and importance, and emerge as one of the
more original bands today.
On August 8th, 2006, Contraphonic Music Ltd. couldn't be prouder to present
Space Between to the public. Space Between is more of a time capsule than a
record, a sonic document to be buried in the hearts and minds of ageless
listeners for years to come.