THE MYNABIRDS

Generals

2012-06-11

More cool stuff from producer Richard Swift as he teams up with singer/songwriter, Laura Burhenn to make her second release as The Mynabirds, Generals. Even though, Ms. Burhenn is a singer/songwriter, there’s more to her music than that. She plays many instruments here and even tries her hand at drums on a few tracks. Richard Swift fills in any gaps nicely with his own playing as well. The album starts with the contemplative “Karma Debt” and it builds energy through second track, “Wolf Mother”, until it gets to title track, “Generals”, which is a real stomper and the best track on the album. By fourth track, “Radiator Sister”, it settles into a danceable, pop-rock vibe that occasionally gets a bit dark (“Disaster”) and often sports interesting percussion (“Body of Work”, “Disarm”) or a more poppy Phil Spector sound (“Greatest Revenge”). The album was inspired, lyrically, by a photo of the Daughters of the American Revolution and has an anti-war, yet radical feminist vibe. Check out Ms. Burhenn’s equally inspired photo project, The New Revolutionists, at www.thenewrevolutionists.org Rebecca Ruth

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