Birds Of Chicago
Album: Live From Space
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 17
Website: http://birdsofchicago.com/

Just under a year ago, in April 2013, I had the great pleasure of seeing Birds of Chicago live at Grateful Fred's. It was a superb show, which I reviewed for this magazine [see under "Live"]. On that occasion The Birds played as a quartet, with principal members JT Nero [Jeremy Lindsay] and Allison Russell [of Po' Girl fame] accompanied by guitarist/singer Peter Mulvey and drummer Will Waghorn.

I concluded my review by writing "This was a magical performance by a hugely talented band. If you can't get to see them live, do the next best thing and take a listen to their album".

Now you can experience The Birds' live show on cd as they are about to release a live album called "Live In Space", which was recorded at their hometown of Evanston, Illinois in June 2013, a mere three months after I saw them. However, this was a rather different show as the band on this album is a full-blown seven piece electric band [or the "Cadillac Edition", as they call it]. Whilst I enjoyed the acoustic quartet hugely, it's great to hear The Birds in full flight, stretching their wings with the extended line-up, including their excellent electric guitarist Dan Abu-Absi.

The defining feature, however, of The Birds of Chicago is that they have two wonderful singers in JT and Allison. Their voices complement each other beautifully, none more so than on "Mountains/ Forests", which was the first song they recorded together and which appears here in all of its glory [electric seahorses included]. Other favourites from when I saw them live include the delicious "Sugar Dumplin'" and Allison's bubbly, calypso-infused "Sans Souci", which benefits enormously from Christopher Merrill's bass playing, which was absent when I saw them.

All seventeen songs on this delightful album are self-written, with four by Allison and thirteen by JT. The latter has an uncanny knack of matching meaningful lyrics to infectiously catchy melodies, as on "Cannonball" and "Trampoline", both of which appear here. Allison is no mean songwriter either. As well the aforementioned "Sans Souci", she contributes the gorgeously soulful "Kathy" and the sublime "Sparrow".

This superb live album faithfully captures a great gig by The Birds of Chicago in front of their hometown crowd, and there are no overdubs or redos. I would have loved to have been there, having previously witnessed their live show [albeit without the full electric band].

You too can see them live, in quartet form, this Spring as they are touring the UK and Ireland in April and May. Miss them at your peril!

Peter Cowley