Birds on a Kill Dawn of the Apocalypse EP
This Florida band describes their sound as “post-punk meets sludge metal,” but I don’t hear that at all. If anything, it’s more like CIRCLE JERKS-inspired early West Coast hardcore with sarcastically delivered vocals, gang choruses, and trebly production. It sounds good, with punchy drums, prominent high-on-the-neck bass lines, and straightforward riffage. “Heavy Seas” expands on the sound some with atonal chords and an extended bridge that rides a bass-heavy groove until fadeout. Lyrically, the songs are either nondescript and personal or very topical. “Mosquito Truck” is about deadly pesticides, and “Cone of Uncertainty,” with the lines, “Governor says I’m gonna die / The national guard’s outside / Time to stand in line / Consume, don’t ask why” and “Laugh as the Yankees flee / Florida man is finally free / Hoard all the D batteries / Prepare for uncertainty” is about, you guessed it, someone’s hot take on the COVID pandemic. My wish for 2025 is that I don’t have to hear another amateurish journal entry set to music (ironic or not) about how you had to wear a mask. Decent release otherwise.