The highly anticipated new album from electro-freak rockers The birD day is easily their most thought provoking album to date.  Its deep, its captivating, and like everything else before it, inherently weird. But fair warning. Those looking to experience another Collect Vibrations might be disappointed. This is not an album for the casual, radio-friendly listener. You won't find any club friendly pop singles on this one. But if you have a little faith, and give the album a little time, you will undoubtedly come to understand that this bounty of treasure yields even higher rewards than anything else before it.

Fed Odd is a piece of work that dives deep into the subconsciousness, traveling through unexplored territory while expanding upon the group's own psychedelic elements. This venture into bizarre and unexplained gives the album more replay value. It allows the listener to peel away one sonic layer at a time, often resulting in multiple listens and constant taps of the 'replay' button, essentially doubling the size of this short 7 song album.

Songs like "Chain Gang", with its muted guitar strumming and groovy bass line will still be able to hold onto the summer long after we've moved into a fall. "We Taste Nothing" sounds like a demented electro freak out, with a wordless chorus line and an elephant synth sound that will leave you both perplexed and intrigued. "Moody Trudy" might be the slowest song The birD day have created, but this break in tempo is the perfect antidote for an album heavy on faster, weirder dance beats.

The best song on the album might be the oriental leaning "Care, Be Free". With its worldly electronic chillwave beat and fluttery synth atmosphere, the song can be as smoothing as a raking gravel from a rock garden. The reverberated falsetto vocals breeze like the wind while the commanding percussion will remind you of bands like The Knife, or Purity Ring.

Fed Odd isn't for everyone. There isn't any "Spinning" or "Five Fingers" pop tune on this one. The same people who were disappointed with MGMT after they refused recreate the same radio friendly hits like "Kids" and "Time to Pretend" on Congratulations, will have similar issues with Fed Odd.

In the end though, The birD day have created something new and interesting while still progressing their sound by leaps and bounds.  Instead of repeating the same old formula (the subtle sign that a band has reached it's creative zenith), The birD day have brought the listener into a realm of noise that goes beyond anything the casual listeners can comprehend. Truth be told, it isn't as accessible as Collect Vibrations, but it isn't any less genuine, and still proves that these psychedelic pop wonder kids are on their way to something special.

Rating: B+

Care, Be Free by buffablog2