Birds of Avalon "Bazaar, Bazaar"

Riding a wave of psychedelia more commonly associated with stoner capital Asheville, NC, Raleigh statemates Birds of Avalon have pieced together a rockin' kaleidoscope of sound. Swaying between Door's-y mystical entrancement, the curling, meandering guitar work of hallucination, and a classic metal attack sometimes reminiscent of Deep Purple, Birds of Avalon's debut, Bazaar Bazaar, is a work of shimmering color.

The tunes melt and materialize around omniharmonious vocals that range from cryptic chanting ("Lost Pages from the Robot Repair Manual") to rockstar howling ("Horse Called Dust"); the vocal inflections showcased within Bazaar, Bazaar match, perhaps surpass, the impressive arsenal of The Shins' James Russell Mercer.

Bazaar, Bazaar's prevalent folk and blues (and drug culture?) influences imbue the music with uncommon diversity, and an extensive cast of instruments are sprinkled throughout. Undercurrents of live show improvisation and acid trip noodling are pared down to manageable bursts, alienating neither the ADD nor stoner crowds, packing more into three and four minute songs than shitty jam bands and pretentious wanker-rockers do in ten.

Bazaar, Bazaar hovers above the heap of sub-genres, positioned amongst the finest Rock releases in recent memory.

Rock 'n' ride a "Horse Called Dust"

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