Disco Tendencies - Birdhouse

Disco Tendencies

Birdhouse
self-released; 2016

3.8 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
​

Alex Rogers (vocals), Jeff Axelrod (guitar), Matt Payne (guitar) Gil Templeton (bass) and Scott Dickson (drums) are Disco Tendencies. The band has been playing for about a year's time at small venues and bars. If you stepped into a bar on a Friday night hoping to have a good time this is the  type of band you would most likely want to hear. Their music on BIrdhouse is soulful, bluesy rock that almost always has a groove you could move to. Apparently they have been described as funkier Black Brows and that's actually a pretty accurate description. I can't say this band is reinventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination but the band knows how to generate a good time.

They open with “Birdhouse” which is a solid song and also indicative of what else you will hear on the album. You can hear traces of James Brown and I was actually reminded of the band Spin Doctors. Anyone between thirty and forty years of age should know what I’m talking about. The song is pretty straightforward all things considered. Not too many unexpected deviations.

“Cigarette Story” starts off as a slow moving blues song but changes into a funky, faster groove. while “Wild Voodoo” is a mesh of blues, funk and rock. A personal favorite was “Snakebite.” The song veered more towards straight ’70s rock. As the album progressed the band continues with some funky jams, some slower ones but never treading too far from the initial sound they established

This band executes well, has good players and can write a pretty good song. The band still has one hurdle I can foresee. As someone who has frequented many of the bars with local bands I have to say that their style is one of the more ubiquitous you see on Friday nights. There a reason for that. It’s fun, people don't have to think about it and it gets people dancing. If Disco Tendencies wants to graduate from the bar gigs they will have to consider how to differentiate themselves from other jammy type funk acts that have a bassist who figured out how to slap.

​Overall, this is a good foundation and I hope to hear them evolve into even more of a niche sound in the future. In the meantime there is a lot to appreciate on Birdhouse. Recommended.

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