- A comment on a message board recently stated that Claremont 56 toes the line of adult contemporary a bit too closely for their tastes. There's no hope for Torn Sail's "Birds" then. Lord knows I could air this track for my Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-loving parents or my Duane Allman and Fleet Foxes-obsessed friends and both would run up to inquire after it. Dance aficionados, though, might not make it through the seemingly infinite 2:30 before the groovy motorik drum kicks in. From there, Huw Costin (who sang previously on Smith & Mudd's albums) takes a keen slide guitar solo that mixes in deftly with a background organ. There's no doubt Costin imagines himself playing "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" at the Fillmore East.
What will draw those who fall outside of the above references in is the epic psychedelic remix from Portugal's Tiago. Whereas the '60s ultimately experienced a rift between earthy acoustic folk and cosmic, head-expanding electrified rock, Tiago makes them seem like one and the same. Backwards-masked guitar lines, reverb and echo make "Birds" lift like cosmic dust so that when the drums burst through this time, it soars and the organ's appearance makes it all swirl as if in a exploratory rave-up. Perhaps Tiago imagines himself "peakin' at the Beacon," too?
Tracklist A Birds
B Birds (Tiago Remix)