The Black Birds 1979 Vinyl Review

Austin Texas has long been a hotbed of killer bands no matter the genre you prefer, there seems to be a great band coming out of the city at every turn. I can only imagine how good it feels to be a local and get to bar hop and take in all those shows. The latest band from the area to pop up on my radar isn’t exactly brand new nor is their release. The Black Birds have been around for a few years now and their debut full length, “1979” was released in 2023.

The Black Birds are a 3-piece Rock N’ Roll band and none of these fellas are wet behind their ears, they’re all seasoned and veteran musicians. Lead vocalist/guitarist Scotty Roller is one half of one of my favorite bands - the Alt. Country/Cowpunk/Rockabilly band, The Saddle Tramps. Seriously, take a moment right now and check any of their music, it’s brilliant. Bassist, Rick Watson has lent his talents to Jesse Dayton, Dale Watson and the impressive Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers. I wasn’t aware of that until I read the bio, and I was like well damn, I should pay more attention! Drummer Juan Gutierrez has manned the kit in the band’s Blockage and Sore Losers. Sadly, I had never heard of those bands before, so I had to do some digging. I really appreciate getting a full bio of a band with a release, it shows that the band cares that you know who they are and where they come from. I’m an avid listener of music of all genres and often I don’t have the time to read the liner notes of everything I listen to so things like this are important, and you learn about new bands a lot of the time. Something else that’s been lost is physical media being sent out for review and I understand the financial implications and things like that, but it says an awful lot about a band when they go out of their way to send a vinyl copy of the record for review. It shows they’re serious about their craft, the album they’ve recorded, and they genuinely care about the PR they’re going to get. Record labels aren’t doing this anymore, not even for their bigger artists that are guaranteed to sell a few thousand on the day of release. Long story short, it’s all about effort and few folks in the music scene be it large or small are big on it nowadays. The Black Birds stand alone in this dept and that deserves to be known and commended.
 
The band’s debut album “1979” was released in 2023 and it’s a blistering dose of Rock N’ Roll with a Punk swagger much like we were treated to with releases from Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, The Dolls and The Dead Boys in the late 70’s. However, the sound isn’t dated, no sir! If I had to pick a current band the group has similarities too, it would be Social Distortion on their more Rock oriented tunes. Admittedly, the fanboy in me has a hard time not hearing a bit of the Cowpunk flavor in Roller’s guitar playing, but I’ve been a long-time fan, and that guitar tone/playing is undeniable. Lyrically, the entire album stands out – I’m used to the Comedic/NFSW lyrical approach of Roller’s band, The Saddle Tramps, so this is really something quite special and new to me. As a middle-aged man, I relate to every song in some shape or form – songs about living, dying, hard work, wishing, hoping and fucking. You name it, it’s all covered here and it’s real, there’s no funny business, it’s genuine and it hits hard.
 
Opening track “Quitter” gets the album moving with Roller leaning into his higher register vocally in the verses, his melody choices really pop and add a lot of character to the song. Next up, the tune “Everything” digs into the Rock element of the album, although it does start off like an old Sex Pistols track that slips my mind right now. This track also features one of Roller’s patented fantastic lead breaks which further strengthens the overall feel of the song. The tune “A few Dollars More” swings hard with a country-fried swag much like some of the more rambunctious Saddle Tramps tracks that I’m used to. For my money, this is one of my favorites from the album, the band clicks in all the right spots and really brings the song home. The same can be said of the tune “Damaged Goods”, I feel the lyrics to this song in my bones. Watson’s bass lines really serve the song well and stand out, he’s got a great tone which isn’t talked about much when it comes to bassists. “Nothin’ to Lose” is a song that’s considerably a bit meatier than a lot of the songs on this album, it’s a bit angrier than the rest, which is fine by me, I’m an angry middle-aged man! HA The lead break and bridge drive the angry feelings even further home. The tune “ADHD” reminds me of my younger brother who’s no longer with us, the lyrics hit home, and I’m reminded of moments in my childhood where I witnessed my brother be punished for things that he legitimately had a hard time controlling even with medication.
 
The Black Birds 1979 album is one that I’ll listen to often for years to come. There aren’t many perfect albums from beginning to end, but I’d say this album fits that term well. The version I received was the aqua vinyl edition with a bit of a marble swirl, it’s a gorgeous piece of wax. I’d suggest you check the band out, the album is on bandcamp, you can take in a good strong listen and purchase the digital version, or you can grab a vinyl edition, which I prefer and recommend. The music on this album was made for a turn table, but more so than that, this music was made for you – there’s not a moment heard here that can’t be related to, it’s classy and heartfelt all at the same time. I can’t wait to hear what these guys come up with next!

https://blackbirdsatx.bandcamp.com/album/1979

~Black Angel