Claude Vonstroke – Beware the Bird / 2006 Dirtybird / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/claudevonstroke / http://www.dirtybirdrecords.com / Reviewed 24 January 2007

“Deep Throat” is the first substantive track of “Beware the Bird”, and what comes forth is a realization of the fact that Vonstroke likes to build up to dizzying highs on the solid foundation of synthesizers and organized drum beats. The overall sound of a track like “Deep Throat” is rooted in the late nineties. Working eir magic for six minutes and keeping individuals interested is a challenge for any artists, but Vonstroke shows that it can be done with a mind that is always turning and different samples and sections which to take from.

Even though this track will not make it onto popular radio, chances are good that this modest dance meets funk track will sell vinyl much in the same way that Cassius did a few years back. For those individuals that are attempting to purchase an album that has the highest amount of value, “Beware The Bird” may just be the album for them. The 12 cuts on the disc when added up pass well over the sixty-minute mark. The sharper edges of “Chimps” are cut in with sounds of the titular animal, but in whole the track provides a solid alternative to the laid-back feeling of “Deep Throat”. The easiest place that I can imagine this album being played in high rotations are those slots during the weekends on college radio stations where they give control of the station to genre-specific shows. Also, hip hookah / coffee shops would be able to play the music on “Beware The Bird”.

This music is not “fluffy”, however, and Vonstroke provides a sharper feeling to each of the tracks on the disc more than anyone else in eir genre. For example, the title track blends together the quicker and slower styles that have previously been dominant into a track that rides seas of Vonstroke’s influence. There may be no vocals to speak of (or very little in the way of vocals) during “Beware the Bird”, but what is given to listeners is a disc that continue has energy and creates in its listeners a desire to listen to that album. The style of the album may be couched in styles from the previous decade, but Vonstroke’s ability is such to make every song on “Beware the Bird” current and vital. I dare say that the album will find a nice home in the hands of individuals that are not fans of the dance, trance, or other related genres that Vonstroke uses here.

Top Tracks: Beware of the Bird, The Whistler

Rating: 6.8/10

[JMcQ]