If you attended Battle of the Bands at The Shack in November, you remember the winners: local indie rockers The Birdwatchers. The group consists of Keego Gross (vocals, rhythm guitar), Hayden Jensen (lead guitar), Lukas Fryer (drums), Ryan Lokugamage (keyboard/piano) and Trent Grierson (bass). The quintet released their debut EP, “Let Down,” last week. It’s brimming with scratchy vocals, catchy guitar hooks and bashing drums.
If you’re a fan of early/mid-2000’s indie rock, you’ll love The Birdwatchers. “MKT” is reminiscent of popular Modest Mouse singles and “Faceless/Graceless” boasts melodic guitar arpeggios and thrashing guitar chords similar to The Strokes’ early records. The band’s influences stem from other genres as well.
“Our lead singer and songwriter Keego is really into The Strokes and The Libertines,” bassist Grierson says. “I’m mostly into hardcore and surf rock. Then you’ve got Hayden, who’s into psychedelic stuff. Lukas is into jazz drumming and all-around interesting stuff. We try to come together on some common ground, but we’re still trying to find our own medium.”
The raw, lo-fi recording style augments the overall experience of “Let Down.” It’s a particular element that plays into the style, and it makes the EP even more admirable. The garage rock style truly adds to the overall feel of “Let Down.”
As far as the creative process goes, lead vocalist Gross typically brings songs to the band and the rest of the members add their own twists to them. Currently, however, the quintet is gravitating to a more collective songwriting style.
“When we first started jamming, we were mostly doing stuff that Keego had written beforehand, so it sounded kind of Strokes-y,” Grierson says. “We’ve done a few covers like “Good Guys Don’t Wear White” by Minor Threat, which is what I enjoy playing. The one song that we really came together on was ‘MKT.’ We all just added our own stuff to it and made it our own. It’s more psychedelic and shoegazey.”
Grierson says “MKT” is the band’s “most personal song.” Judging from the overall sound of the “MKT,” it’s definitely the most representative track on the EP. It’s full of the defining features of The Birdwatchers. Overall, it’s the song that Grierson takes the most pride in.
“I really enjoyed the building process of ‘MKT,’” Grierson says. “We performed that at Battle of the Bands after we came up with it the day before. We fixed some of the flaws we had in it beforehand and we’re still working on it. Every time we play it, something new will happen to it.”
Be sure to give The Birdwatchers a listen. Their music is perfect if you’re a fan of The Strokes, Modest Mouse or The Libertines. Listen to their debut EP, “Let Down,” [here.](https://soundcloud.com/the-birdwatchers)
_Edited by Katie Rosso | krosso@themaneater.com_
