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State LinesRarebirds
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"State Lines, the third album to be released by Rarebirds, is a documentation of Carolynne McNeel’s twelve-year love affair with the city of Philadelphia.
It is every bit a tribute to the city of brotherly love, as it is a celebration of transformation and evolution. This collection of songs is a narrative about falling in and out of love with ideas, people, places, and dreams; moving on, doing it all over again, and all the while looking back fondly and being ecstatically happy about the fact that things don’t always turn out the way you want them to…because that’s what makes life interesting.
With influences on this record as broad-ranged as Belle and Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, John Lennon and Ray Charles, Rarebirds brings you an even balanced mix of the upbeat and the mellow, the melodic and the rhythmic, and pop with just a hint of soul and a touch of folksy country.
April of 2010 marked the life-changing uprooting of Carolynne, and thus Rarebirds, from Philadelphia. From blatant Philly-centric references to the more subtle or more personalized ones, State Lines is a nostalgic farewell and forget-me-not, penned on scented stationary and tucked away in a dresser drawer, waiting to be perfectly aged and read over and over again many years from now."
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The story of Rarebirds isnt very interesting girl plays in band (April Disaster), band breaks up, girl starts new band (Carolynne McNeel Three), band morphs into something different and better (Rarebirds).
But Rarebirds itself? Rarebirds is interesting.
When ink is spilled over Carolynne McNeels singing and songwriting, writers are left speculating whats beneath her opaque delivery and idiosyncratic playing. Philadelphia Weekly praised her smoky, twinkling tunes as well above standard singer/songwriter fare, while Philadelphia City Paper called them ethereal [and] folky, with lyrics as abstract and complex as her arrangements.
In other words? Shes a tough nut to crack. Thats half the fun of listening to Rarebirds, especially in this age of look-at-me lyrics and painful over-emoting.
Better Than This, a dreamy demo for the bands forthcoming album, shivers with odd sounds while McNeel sings, almost to herself, about writing the same song every night and not quite getting into heaven. Its heavy stuff, and just vague enough for us to know shes not making it up.
McNeel always seems to sing from experience, but its not always so bittersweet. The sprightly When You Sleep brings to life the contagious joy and headiness of love, and the happy-go-lucky subject matter is reflected in her simpler playing and sunnier backing.
The gentlemen providing that backing, by the way, are some of Phillys finest Adam Herndon (This Radiant Boy, Run Runner) on bass, Rick Hass (This Radiant Boy) s, Dave Dworanczyk (Secession Movement) on drums, and Keith Forsythe (a recent transplant from North Carolina) on guitar.
Two other demos, Sweet Lies and Drowning Happy (both available for listening at www.myspace.com/rarebirds), say it all with their titles. Theres conflict, and like so many fine songwriters before her, McNeel doesnt try to reconcile it or filter things out.
Instead, she mines it for all its worth, mashing up a wealth of divergent emotions and skipping backwards and forwards in time to suit the needs of the story.
And thats why we relate to Rarebirds songs the way we do though the creative hooks, vocal prettiness, and fresh-faced instrumentation help even if were not always able to explain why. (Doug Wallen, 4.06)
Rarebirds current line-up includes a smattering of Philly's finest. Lara Manogg (Elastic Medium, The Lara & Joe Show, Grand Fabric) joined the crew in fall of '07 playing keys and singing backing vocals.
John Ziga (drums) and Ben Morgan (bass) joined simultaneously in fall of '08. Ben has played in an array of Philadelphia bands including Be Careful Little Hands, The Sand Family, Slipping Into Sublimnity, and Lexicon. You may also recognize him as MC Digga. John was an original April Disaster member and has played in True if Destroyed and Rizzo Machine among others. With the exception of Carolynne, Keith Forsythe (American Zero, Sans Culotte) is currently the longest standing member of Rarebirds. Go Keith!
