ARTIST: Birds Of Wales
TITLE: Fall Of The 49
LABEL: Invisible Hands
GENRE: Rock
TIME: 27:42 min
SIZE: 34,8 MB
RIP DATE: Aug-19-2007
RELEASE DATE: Jun-04-2007
WEBSITE: n/a
Track List:
01. Fall Of The 49 02:31
02. Life 02:58
03. Cinderella (Has Nothing On You) 03:25
04. My Lady, In July 03:00
05. T-Shirt 03:03
06. Everynight 03:06
07. Sicamous 02:13
08. The Fine Art Of Ballet Dancing 03:27
09. A Few More Days (Live) 03:59
Release Notes:
Few independent bands strike lucky. Most drift along
in a flat sea of anonymity, only occasionally
breaking outside of their local scene or even
gaining the status of becoming a cult act, and if
they are one of the very few to ôhit it bigö it is
rarely instant. It often only comes after years of
trying and perseverance.
The Birds of Wales are the exception to the rule.
The Toronto-based group signed to the multinational
Agency Group for live representation shortly after
forming in October 2005, and has had a prolific
first 18 months. There have been sell-out shows in
the bandÆs own country and there have been
prestigious support slots with the Beautiful South,
the Meligrove Band and the Sadies there as well. It
has played three tours already of the UK and a
fourth is planned for July and August. One song,
æCinderella (Has Nothing on You)Æ appeared on two
free music compilations in Ireland, 560, 000 copies
of which were given as away as ValentineÆs Day gifts
in two of the countryÆs biggest newspapers. Another,
æMy Lady ; in JulyÆ, has been selected to appear on
the soundtrack of æEcstasyÆ, the belated follow-up
to the film æTrainspottingÆ.
The Birds of Wales are on the verge of an
international breakthrough. The bandÆs ascension has
been so fast that of the nine songs that appear on
their debut EP, æThe Fall of the æ49Æ, which has
just been released in Britain, only three were in
fact recorded by the actual group. The remaining six
were recorded by the groupÆs leader Morgan Ross in
the early part of 2005 in his home town of Vancouver
shortly before he moved to Toronto to found the
band.
"Some of my best friends are in a band called
Stabilo. They were the back up band on it" 24 year
old Ross, who has been writing songs since he was in
his mid teens, explains. "They've been really
successful in Canada and have had a Number 1 hit,
but when we first met each other through a mutual
friend they weren't quite as famous. On one of the
first days that I spent with them originally, we
were all sitting on the dock of a beach of a lake
with our guitars out and I played them a couple of
my songs and their guitarist told me' Morgan, you
really need to record these songs.' And things just
went from there..."
Ross recorded the initial six songs of the EP at a
studio in Vancouver between January and August 2005
in gaps between the local-based Stabilo's own
touring and recording schedule. Shortly after the
recording was complete, he moved in September of
that year 2,000 miles east to Toronto.
"I had been in other groups before that no one has
ever heard of, but Birds of Wales is the first group
that I have taken really seriously" says Ross. "I
came to Toronto with the intention of forming a
group. Toronto is comparable in Canada to London in
terms of that is where most of the music business
is. I formed the band a few weeks after I arrived in
October 2005. I did a lot of auditions and
eventually got together a line-up that fitted."
The initial line-up of the band consisted, as well
as Ross on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Caputo on
guitar ; Paul Barry on drums and percussion and Moe
Smith on drums. Barry dropped out in March of this
year to play with another band the Dunes and has
been replaced by Moe Smith's brother, Jesse. A
pianist, Scott Christian, also played briefly with
the Birds of Wales, but, unable to commit himself to
the band full-time because of his academic studies
in music, left the group in June 2006, although he
continues to occasionally make guest appearances at
its Toronto shows.
The Canadian version of the EP, which is simply
titled 'The Birds of Wales EP', was self-released on
the band's own label last year and features the six
songs that Ross recorded with Stabilo. For its UK
release, the EP, which came out in May on Invisible
Hands Music, was re-christened 'The Fall of '49 EP',
and has added the three extra songs which feature
the whole group.
"I am proud of my band and I wanted them to be as
involved as possible" Ross reflects. "It was an
opportunity for me to have them on the first record,
and it was also an opportunity for me to put songs
on it that I was proud of."
'The Fall of '49' has drawn the band favourable
critical comparisons with the likes of Coldplay,
Ryan Adams and Belle and Sebastian, yet mainly
acoustic, it has, with its dreamy, soft folk and
occasional pop sound ; honeyed melodies and Ross'
thoughtful and slightly bittersweet lyrics, its own
unique style and edge.
While the majority of the tracks come from personal
experience and are usually love songs that have an
unexpected twist, the title track, the EP's only
fully electric song, a hazy-sounding rocker, takes
its inspiration from politics and the years Ross
spent at university in Vancouver prior to forming
the band.
"When I was at university I started in Political
Science and, as any young student at university who
takes politics seriously, I definitely had some
opinions" he says. "'The Fall of '49', which was
written at that time, is about the ever growing
similarities between the United States and Canada,
and how a lot of Canadians see that as a front
against our own identity."
The other stand out track is 'The Fine Art of Ballet
Dancing', a wistful and gorgeously tender ballad,
about Ross' girlfriend when he was a teenager.
"When I was 17 I had a girlfriend who was quite a
high level ballerina and she invited me to her big
end-of-year recital and I wasn't over keen on going"
he laughs. "But I went out of obligation and it
turned out that I really enjoyed it. The lyrics are
quite literal as they are simply about a young guy
going to a dance recital and finding he quite likes
it, but at the same time he feels insecure about it
and doesn't tell people."
The Birds of Wales are now working on an
as-yet-untitled full-length album, which is being
produced by Wilco and Blue Rodeo pedal steel player
Bob Egan. It will come out in July in Canada and at
the beginning of next year in Europe.
ôI am a huge Wilco fan and also of Blue Rodeoö Ross
enthuses about his producer. ôBob has played on more
albums than anyone I have ever met, and has worked
with some really impressive people like Johnny Cash.
One of our really close friends who is helping to
manage the band knew Bob, so I was able to ask him
if he would be interested in producing the new album
for us, and it turned out that he was really, really
into what he heard. It has been really exciting
working with him.ö
ôIt is going to be entirely electricö he continues,
when asked what direction the new album will take.
"The best way to describe it is as music that will
make your foot tap. For the most part it is quite
alt. country rock ænÆ roll.ö
Ross puts much of the Birds of WalesÆ good fortune
to date down to his own persistence.
ôNoö he says in conclusion, when asked if he has
been surprised at how much success the band has
achieved so quickly. ôI have really put my nose to
the grindstone and I have worked hard. I am the type
of person that when I set my mind on something I am
ridiculously intent on achieving it. There are, of
course, aspects of luck involved. It is like with
anything. You have got to be there at the right
time. Everything has, however, fitted really well
together for us over the last 18 months or so. I am
not surprised, but I am really proud.ö
While the Birds of Wales have achieved a remarkable
amount in a short time, there is still an element of
uncertainty to the groupÆs future. It is still
looking for Canadian and American deals. It is also
too early to know yet whether its new line-up will
hold together, or if the change of direction it is
making will prove attractive to fans and help to
expand its audience further. Ross through his
friendship with Stabilo and his own foresight and
intuition has, however, made all the right moves so
far for his band. He is a talented and gifted
songwriter, and the group has been gaining a lot of
exposure. Things certainly look very promising. For
dedication and determinism alone , Morgan Ross
deserves to do very well.