Do you remember “lo-fi garage rock”? Throwback rock n’ roll like that of Minnesota’s Leisure Birds once nursed a stranglehold on the Internet’s use of the label “next big thing.” Rollicking guitar-based stompers like “Down the Drain” and the rest of Leisure Birds’ debut LP, Copper Scroll, still drill their way into our collective musical consciousness. The same Minnesota DIY scene that churned up old school-y psych-rock gems like Velvet Davenport’s Warmy Girls or Moon Glyph Records’ Regolith Vol. 1 compilation continues to impress its way through our ears and into our hearts and minds.
The charm of songs like “Down the Drain” stem from their simplicity. Leisure Birds’ do not try to be anything more than a straight-up rock band. This sentiment becomes more and more welcome every day. For five minutes, we can forget that proper nouns like Ableton or ProTools exist and focus on less complex words that need no capital letters: amp, guitar, cable, feedback.
Leisure Birds, “Down the Drain” (Copper Scroll, Totally Gross National Product)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
